
Class _/L^:^_- 

G(pight)^'^_ 



COPVRICKT DEPOSIT. 



-\\ 




i^FA^r^-, A ,\^^y,,.^r^, VH^VlS^e^^E-^^ 




-u 







';^ 




ivB"- 






?,=-i: 



/ 



Si. ^* 




^tit^^. 







L--#- 



L^ 



y 






^ -. 



__JP-'~] 






—•ii"- ..-»»*.■■ 



NEW BEDFORD 



MASSACHUSETTS 



ITS HISTORY, INDUSTRIES, INSTITUTIONS, AND 

ATTRACTIONS 



X. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF TRADE 



COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION 

THOMAS W. COOK, Chairman 
CHARLES S. KELLEY, Treasurer 
ANDREW SNOW, JR., Secretary 
GEORGE R. STETSON 
LEMUEL LeB. HOLMES 



Writers — ZEPH. W. PEASE, GEORGE A. HOUGH 
Editor— WILLIAM L. SAYEK 



PRINTERS 

Mekciky Publishing Company, 112 and 114 Union Stkkkt 

1889 




Copyrighted, January, 1889, by the New Bedford Board of Trade. 






PREFACE. 



At a special meeting of the New Bedford Board of Trade, held 
Oct. 17, 1887, the following motion, made by Thomas W. Cook, 
was adopted : 

That a committee of three be appointed by the chair for the purpose of collating 
facts, figures, statistics, and general information in relation to the city of New Bedford 
as being a desirable and advantageous place for permanent I'esidence, summer 
resort, the establishment of business, and any and all other knowledge the pro- 
mulgation of which would prove beneficial to the growth, prosperity, and general 
welfare of the city; the same to be published in an illustrated form and distributed 
throughout the country, as the wisdom of the committee may determine ; and that 
such sums of monej' be appropriated from time to time to defray the expenses 
of the committee as they, together with the Board of Directors, ma}- consider neces- 
sary ; and that the expenses of such action be taken from the industrial exposition 
surplus, if there be any surplus. 

In obedience to that resolution, this book has been prepared. 
Be3'ond the mere shred of historical reminiscence which forms the 
opening chapter, and a few incidental allusions in the succeeding 
pages, no attempt has been made to dwell on the past of New Bed- 
ford. The aim has been to exhibit New Bedford as it is, that her 
people may be incited to greater efforts to realize her possibilities. 

The grateful thanks of the committee, the writers, and the 
editor are due to the many who have cheerfully assisted in the 
preparation of these pages. While the task has been long and 
sometimes perplexing, it has brought to those to whom it was en- 
trusted many pleasant experiences. 

And now the book is committed to the people of New Bedford, 
for whose sake it was prepared, with the hope that it roa}- accom- 
plish some part, at least, of the benefit which has been h5ped from it. 



NEW BEDFORD BOARD OF TRADE. 



Organized March 5. 1884. 



ROOMS NO. 33 NORTH WATER STREET. 



PRESIDENT. 
ISAAC B. TOMPKINS, JR. 

VICE PRESIDENTS. 

.JONATHAN BOURNE, SAMUEL C. HART, 

WILLIAM J. ROTCH, CHARLES S. KELLEY, 

FRANCIS HATHAWAY, ABBOTT P. SMITH, 

FREDERICK SWIFT, JIREH SWIFT. 

DIRECTORS. 

WILLIAM A. ROBINSON, WILLIAM LEWIS, 

WILLIAM R. WING, THOMAS B. TRIPP, 

GEORGE R. STETSON, EDWARD S. BROWN, 

JAMES DELANO, JOHN W. MACOMBER, 

GEORGE S. HOMER, WARREN E. CHASE, 

WILLIAM N. CHURCH, EDWIN DEWS, 

WALTER CLIFFORD, STEPHEN A. BROAVNELL, 

SAVORY C. HATHAWAY, WILLIAM G. WOOD, 

WILLIAM D. HOWLAND, LEMUEL LeB. HOLMES, 
CHARLES S. ASHLEY. 

SECRETARY. 
AUGUSTUS A. WOOD. 

TREASURER. 
GEORGE R. PHILLIPS. 

COMMITTEES. 

Finances — Thomas B. Tripp, Edward S. Brown. 

Membership — Charles S. Kelley, Charles S. Ashley, Edwin Dews, 
Stephen A. Brownell. 

Quotations — James Delano, Warken E. Chase, Savory C. Hathaway, 
William Lewis. 



Shipping Interests— WvLt.ixu R. WiNG, William Lewis, William N. Church. 
Manufacturing Interests— Wuaaku D. Rowland, George R. Stetson. 
Bules -'LvMUY.h LeB. Holmes, Walter Cliffokd, William G. Wood. 
Miscellaneoiis Business— Gkorge S. Homer, William A. Robinson, John W. 
Macomber. 

Boom — Isaac B. Tompkins, Jr., George R. Phillips, Augustus A.Wood. 



MEMBERS. 



Fraucis T. Akin, 
George N. Alden, 
Robert Allan, 
Edward H. Allen, 
Fretlerick S. Allen, 
Gilbert Allen, 
Benjamin Anthony, 
Edmund Anthony, Jr., 
Charles S. Ashley, 
Frank C. Bancroft, 
Charles E. Barney, 
Edwin L. Barney, 
George F. Bartlett, 
HenrV Bartlett, 
Robert W. Bartlett, 
William H. Bartlett, 
William M. Bates, 
M^illiam Baylies, 
J. Arthur Beauvais, 
Rodolphus Beetle, 
Robert G. Bennett, 
John Bertram, 
William II. Besse, 
George S. Bliss, 
Charles F. Borden, 
Jonathan Bourne, 
Standish Bourne, 
Charles H. Briggs, 
Geoi'ge E. Briggs, 
Charles O. Brightman, 
Edward S. Brown, 
Oliver F. Brown, 
Alfred M. Brownell, 
Benjamin F. Brownell, 
Elnatlian C. Brownell, 
George L. Brownell, 
Holder M. Brownell, 
J. Augustus Brownell, 
Stephen A. Brownell, 
Josepli H. Burgess, 
William M. Butler, 
Byron F. Card, 
Charles A. Case, 
Edward T. Chapman, 
Abram Chase, 
Warren E. Chase, 
William N. Church, 
Charles W. Cliflford, 
Walter Clifford, 
Charles W. Coggeshall, 
Robert C. P. Coggeshall, 
Charles E. Cook, 
Samuel H. Cook, 
Thomas W. Cook, 
David A. Corey, 
Frank Cory, 
Henry U. Crapo, 
William W. Crapo, 
Charles S. Cummings, 
Patrick Cunningham, 
Charles F. Cushing, 
John K. Cushing, 
Harry Damon, 



Benjamin Dawson, 
Horatio G. Dean, 
Charles H. L. Delano, 
George Delano, 
James Delano, 
Henry C. Denison, 
JohnH. Denison, 
Edwin Dews, 
.John H. J. Doane, 
James Duddy, 
John Duff, 
Abram T. Eddy, 
George M. Eddy, 
John H. Ennis, 
David B. Folger, 
Lot H. Gibbs, 
Frank H. Gifford, 
Frederick N. Gifford, 
Thomas J. Gifford, 
Alex. M. Gooilspeed, 
William Gordon, Jr., 
Charles A. Gray, 
Edmund Grinned, 
Lawrence Grinnell, 
Samuel C. Hart, 
Edward P. Haskell, Jr., 
Edward S. Haskell, 
John Hastings, 
George C. Hatch, 
Moses E. Hatch, 
Benjamin P. Hathaway, 
Francis Hathaway, 
Henry C. Hathaway, 
Horatio Hathaway^ 
Savory C. Hathaway, 
Norman P. Hayes, 
Charles E. Heiidrickson, 
Thomas Hersom, 
Edward E. Hitch, 
Joshua C. Hitch, 
Henry A. Holcomb, 
Munroe Holcomb, 
Charles H. Holden, 
Albert W. Holmes, 
Lemuel LeB. Holmes, 
George S. Homer, 
Frederick A. Homer, 
Frederick H. Hooper, 
Thomas D. Hooper, 
Henry Howland, 
Horace G. Howland, 
Paul Howland, Jr., 
Weston Howland, 
WiUiam D. Howland, 
Cyrus D. Hunt, 
Samuel C. Hunt, 
Henry S. Hutchinson, 
Samuel Ivers, 
Charles S. Kelley, 
David B. Kempton, 
Chiirles Kern, 
George P. Kingman, 
George M. Kingman, 



George O. Knowles, 
John P. Knowles, 2d, 
Thomas H. Knowles, 
Hosea M. Knowlton, 
William Kuhn, 
James W. Lawrence, 
James M. Lawton, Jr., 
Eilgar R. Lewis, 
William Lewis, 
Stephen C. Lowe, 
Clarence Lowell, 
Augustus E. Lucas, 
Parkman M. Lund, 
John McCullough, 
John W. Macomber, 
Pardon A. Macomber, 
Edward D. Mandell, 
William H Mathews, 
Samuel E. Miller, 
Eben C. Milliken, 
Lewis E. Milliken, 
Charles H. Morton, 
Henry C. W. Mosher, 
James H. Murkland, 
Timothy .1. Murpliv, 
Ezekiel H. Noble, 
John N. Norris, 
Obed C. Nye, 
John O'Neil, 
Samuel Osborn, Jr., 
Samuel S. Paine, 
Charles S. Paisler, 
Ephraim C. Palmer, 
Charles L.Parker, 
David L. Parker, 
Stephen D. Peirce, 
Arthur K. Perrv, 
George R. Phillips, 
Andrew G. Pierce, 
Charles W. Plummer, 
Andrew C. Pollard, 
Charles R. Price, 
Charles S. Randall, 
El)en P. Ravmond, 
Rol)ert F. Ravmond, 
William A. Read, 
Benjamin F. H. Reed, 
Samuel P. Richmond, 
•Joseph W. Ro))ertson, 
Anthony Rolnnson, 
Williani A. Robinson, 
Edmund Rodman, 
Morgan Rotch, 
William J. Rotch, 
Samuel H. Rus.sell, 
William A. Russell, 
William Samlers, 
Gardner T. Sanford, 
William L. Sayer, 
Humphrey W. Seaburv, 
Charles F. Shaw, 
Charles R. Sherman, 
Joseph S. Sisson, 



Ori-ick Smallev, 
Abbott P. Smith, 
Harry A. Smith, 
Andrew Snow, .Jr., 
Loum Snow, 
Rufus A. Soule, 
Frederick A. Sowle, 
Frederick L. Sowle, 
James C. Stafford, 
James E. Stanton, 
Eliot D. Stetson, 
George R. Stetson, 
William F. Sturtevant, 
Daniel J. Sullivan, 
Frederick Swift, 
Jireh Swift, 
John F. Swift, 
Moses C. Swift, 
Antone L. Sylvia, 
George S. Taber, 
Robert B. Taber, 
Robert W. Taber, 
William C. Taber, Jr., 
William G. Taber, 
Henry W. Taylor, 
Lemuel T. Terry, 
John T. Tillinghast, 
Joseph Tillinghast, 
Theoilore F. Tillinghast, 
William A. Tillinghast, 
Robert G. Tobey, 
Isaac B. Tompkins, Jr., 
Charles M. Tripp, 
Henry W. Tripp, 
Thomas A. Tripp, 
Thomas B. Tripp, 
Edward T. Tucker, 
George F. Tucker, 
Hiram Van Cainpen, 
Weston C. Vaughan, 
Benjamin H. VV^^ite, 
Lettice R. Washburn, 
Williani H. Washburn, 
William Watkins, 
William N. Weeden, 
John Welch, 
Arthur C. Wheaton, 
Edward B. Whiting, 
Edmonil L. Wilde, 
E.lward T. Wilson, 
George WiLson, 
-John VVing, 
John Wing, 
Jiist'iih Wing, 
William R. Wing, 
Augustus A. Wood, 
Edmund Wood, 
George R. Wood, 
Thomas F. Wood, 
William G. Wood, 
Antone L. Zoeggele. 



PAST PRESIDENTS. 

FREDERICK SWIFT, 1S84 to 1886. 
JIREH SWIFT, 1886 to 1888. 



CONTENTS. 



Preface 5 

Organization of the Board of Trade 6 

CHAPTER I. 
Pages of History 9 

CHAPTER n. 
The Whale-fishery 25 

CHAPTER HI. 
Seeing the Sights 55 

CHAPTER IV. 
Industrial and Financial 133 

CHAPTER V. 
A Diversity of Subjects 301 

ADVERTISEMENTS. 



W€ 




h 



-di=;JL:=:..;r::=,rr:;r=:s 




III MAYOR- 1 875-1876 



NEW BEDFORD. 



CHAPTER I. 



PAGES OF HISTORY. 




AY 31, 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold, 
with a small party of EngHshmen, 
sailed from the little island of Cutty- 
hunk to the main land borderino- on 
the "stately sound" which he called 
"Gosnold's Hope," but to which has 
persistently clung the less poetic ap- 
pellation of a later date, "Buzzards 
Bay." It has usually been taken for 
granted that the discoverers sailed up 
the Acushnet river, and landed on 
the shore where the city of New Bedford is now located. Of this there 
may be some doubt, for the narrative of one of the party indicates 
that the harbors found by Gosnold and his companions were two 
which are west of the Acushnet river. However this may be, it is 
certain that they were not far from this locality, and the descrip- 
tions given by the English explorers may apply as well to the 
appearance of our own harbor in those days. It is said by an early 
historian that "the stately groves, flowering meadows and running- 
brooks afforded delightful entertainment to the adventurers," and one 
of the visitors, writing of the visit, says that Gosnold was met by a 
company of the natives, "men, women and children, who with all 



lO NEW BED FOR I). 



courteous kindness entertained him, giving him skins of wild beasts, 
tobacco, turtles, hemp, artificial strings coloured, and such like 
'things as thev had about them." We may be sure that Gosnold 
traded with the aborigines, for it is stated by the same authority 
that when the ship returned on the homeward voyage to England, 
she was laden with furs and other productions of the country, among 
which is particularly mentioned sassafras root, then held in great 
esteem in England as a medicine. It was the original intention 
that the expedition, which sailed from Falmouth, England, on the 
26th of March, 1602, should proceed to Virginia and there found 
a colonv. But the voyagers chanced upon an island which is easily 
identified as Cuttyhunk, one of a small group on the southern coast 
of Massachusetts, where they determined to settle. That they were 
tickle, and not adapted to pioneering, is shown by their building 
a rude fort or house, but abandoning the enterprise when it was yet 
in its infancy. On the 17th of June in the year in which they 
reached America the\ sailed on their return to England. 

It has often been asserted that Gosnold and his unstable followers 
were not the first European visitors to our shores. With some rea- 
sonable confidence, the claim is made that they were anticipated six 
centuries by the adventurous Northmen, who were roving dwellers 
on the New England coast for eight years, and of whom, but little 
doubt remains that they often visited the shores of Buzzards Bay and 
its vicinity. The records are meagre, but they are believed to be 
trustworthy and to warrant the conclusion that the coastwise explora- 
tions ot the Northmen, although seemingly unproductive of lasting or 
valuable results, were thorough. Of all the deductions from these 
records, it is impossible to speak so confidentl}^ Differing widely as 
they do, some of them must be imaginary, and all are undoubtedly 
to a great extent fanciful. Yet we do not greatly stretch the imag- 
ination if we conjecture that the bold northern sailors navigated the 
waters of the Acushnet and explored the forests on its shores. 

Twenty years after the arrival of the Mayflower at Plymouth, 
the dwellers in that colony began to look with covetous eyes on the 
pleasant land which had delighted Gosnold and his companions. 
The general court of March, 1639, passed an order that the pur- 
chasers or "old-com,ers" should make choice of two or three 
plantations for themselves and their heirs by the December court. 
The selections were duly made, and one of them, known as ''the 



o 




12 NEW BEDFORD. 



second place," included the locality which is now the city of New 
Bedford. But not until 1652 was the right acquired by purchase 
from the Indians. On the 29th of November, 1652, a conveyance 
was made by Wasamequin, an Indian chief, and Wamsutta, his son, 
of the territory now included in the city of New Bedford and the 
neighboring towns of Fairhaven, Acushnet, Dartmouth, and West- 
port. For this large tract of land, the consideration was as follows : 
''Thirty yards of cloth, eight moose-skins, fifteen axes, fifteen hoes, 
fifteen pair of breeches, eight blankets, two kettles, one cloak, £2 in 
wampan, eight pair stockings, eight pair of shoes, one iron pot, and 
ten shillings in another commoditie." It has been supposed that 
this other "commoditie'" meant rum and tobacco. On the con- 
trary, it is urged that the purchasers of this land were not afraid to 
say rum when thev meant rum, and that the consideration is as likely 
to have been something else as liquor. But this aside, the buyers of 
the territorN' secured a very fair bargain for their outlay. Wamsutta 
and his father Wasamequin, or Massasoit, the name by which he is 
better known, agreed to remove all the Indians from the tract in a 
year. This was beyond their power, and the Indians remained in 
partial possession for many years. 

Settlers had found their way to the territory before the purchase. 
If tradition can be relied upon, Ralph Russell, his son John, and 
Anthony Slocum were the first white men to set up homes in this 
vicinity. They are said to have come from Taunton in 1650, and to 
have established an iron forge at Russell's Mills, in what is now the 
town of Dartmouth. Neither of them was an original proprietor, 
but on the 9th of March, 1664, John Russell purchased the thirt}'- 
fourth part or share of Capt. Miles Standish. John Cooke, who 
came to Acushnet at about the time the Russells came to Russell's 
Mills, was an original proprietor, and he was a son of Francis Cooke, 
a Mayflower Pilgrim. He and John Russell were the leading men 
in the new town of Dartmouth, arid for the first twenty years of its 
existence were its only representatives in the Old Colony court at 
Plymouth. 

It is evident, from a study of the records, that many of the 
pioneer settlers in this region came here for the same reason that the 
Pilgrims came to Plymouth. Many of them w^ere Friends or Bap- 
tists, who found life in the Plymouth colony hard to bear because 
they were not of its dominant religious faith. John Cooke, before 



PAGES OF HISTORY. 13 



alluded to, was a Baptist preacher, and was highly honored by his 
townsmen, holding various offices of trust for many years. But the 
•general court saw fit to fine him ten shillings "for breaking the Sab- 
bath by unnecessary travelling thereon." It has been surmised, 
and not unreasonably, that he was travelling to fulfill an appointment 
to preach. 

The founders of Plymouth colon}" made one step toward the reali- 
zation of perfect religious liberty. The founders of the town of 
Dartmouth made another, which was not less important. We can do 
no better in this connection than to quote the admirable statement 
made by Hon. William W. Crapo in his oration at the Dartmouth 
centennial, Sept. 14th, 1864. He said : 

"I have said our fathers were Puritans. They were more than that — ^they were 
the Protestants of the Puritan?. I'hey were in sympathy witli the established gov- 
ernment at Plymouth in every tiling except the one matter of compulsory taxation 
for religious purposes. Fully believing in freedom of conscience, the}'^ had early 
conceived a strong aversion to the arbitrary imposition of taxes by the civil power 
for the support of a ministry with which they were not in unison and over which 
they had no control. The early records of the town, imperfect and fragmentary as 
they are, in connection with the histoi'y of the colony, plainly tell us how earnestly 
and even bitterly this controversy was waged, and for how many years it was the 
source of discord and of persecution. The Plymouth colony court annually appor- 
tioned to the town a tax for the support of ministers, in addition to the province 
tax, but the Baptists and Quakers of Dartmouth were inflexible in their resistance to 
it, and while the province rates were faitlifully met, those for the maintenance of 
ministers were refused. It also troubled our good nilers at Plymouth that our 
fathers were so negligent in providing stated preaching according to the established 
Puritan faith." 

The authorities at Plymouth were disposed to force the refrac- 
tory Baptists and Qiiakers into compliance. In 1674, the court 
passed an order in which it took into "serious consideration the 
tremendous dispensation of God towards the people of Dartmouth in 
sufl:ering the barbarous heathen to spoil and destroy most of their 
habitations," expressing the fear that the carelessness to obtain and 
attend unto the ministry of the word of God "may have been a 
provocation of God thus to chastise their contempt of his gospel, 
which we earnestly desire the people of that place may seriously 
consider of, lay to heart and be humbled for, with a solicitous en- 
deavor after a reformation thereof, b}- a vigorous putting forth to 
obtain an able, faithful dispenser of the word of God amongst them, 
and to encourage him therein ; the neglect whereof this court, as 
they must and, God willing, they will not jiermit for the future." 



14 NEW BKDFORD. 



This did not frighten the people of Dartmouth, whose ideas of 
religions duty were quite as inflexible as those of the members of 
the Plymouth court. They would worship God, but they would do it 
in their own way, and they would contribute not a penny to the sup- 
port of a ministry of which they did not fully approve. The 
struggle between the town and the court lasted over fifty 3-ears, but 
the town yielded never a grain. It reached a culmination in 1724. 
In 1722, the assembly of Massachusetts passed an act to raise one 
hundred pounds in the town of Dartmouth, and seventy-two pounds 
eleven shillings in the adjoining town of Tiverton (then a part of 
Massachusetts) for the support of ministers whose selection was 
subject to the approval of the general court. The two towns were 
the only ones in the province that had not received any Presbyterian 
ministers, and the action of the ceneral court was to force them into 
line with the rest. It was provided that the sum assessed should be 
included in the province tax, and afterwards be drawn out of the 
treasur}'. The people of Dartmouth had a town meeting on the 26th 
of November, 1722, and ^'oted not to pay the money, but to raise 
seven hundred pounds to protect the selectmen from the conse- 
quences of the refusal and to defray the expenses of an appeal to the 
king. Only five taxpayers protested against this appropriation, 
which was a large one for those days, and it is worthy of note, as 
showing the earnestness of the people, that it was met by the tax of 
that year, and not left to posterity to pay, on the ground that future 
generations would reap the benefit and must therefore foot the bills. 
The selectmen refused to assess the tax which had been ordered by 
the assembly. They were imprisoned in Bristol jail for eighteen 
months, but the appeal to the king resulted in their release and the 
order that the obnoxious taxes be remitted. Thus ended a struggle 
for religious liberty the importance of which can hardly be over- 
estimated. On both sides it was waged by patriotic and conscien- 
tious men, but it must ever be occasion for honest pride to the 
dwellers in Dartmouth and her daughter municipalities that the 
pioneers within her borders stood firmly and successfully for the 
principle of complete independence of the Christian church from the 
domination or guidance of the state. 

King Philip's war was the occasion of much distress to the inhab- 
itants of this region. This is not the place to enter into an extended 
account of that last struggle of the Indians of southeastern New 




^^^^4^ 



PAGES OF HISTORY 



17 



England to retain possession of their hunting grounds. While it 
lasted, it was bitter and relentless. It extended over a considerable 
part of eastern Massachusetts, but it is recorded that no other por- 
tion of the territory was so devastated as that on which New Bedford 
stands. One historian of the time wrote that Dartmouth's " distresses 
required succour, great part of the town being laid desolate and many 
of the inhabitants killed ; the most of Plymouth forces were ordered 
thither." Tradition says that the dwelling of every white person 
within the limits of the town was destroyed. However, after the 
death of Philip and the dispersion of his followers, the town appears 
to have quickly recovered. 

After the close of King Philip's war, the settlers b}- the Appone- 
gansett turned their attention to the shores of the Acushnet. Some 
time prior to 1711, Joseph Russell, son of the John Russell who 
established the iron Ibr^e at Russell's Mills, came here and resided 
at what is now the corner of County and South streets. Joseph 
Russell, Jr., who was born at the garrison in Apponegansett in the 
troublous times of Indian warfare, also came to live near his father. 
The third Joseph in the line was probably born within the limits of 
the present city, and to him is generally credited the honor of being 
its founder. He was a man of enterprise and of far-seeing business 
ability. He established the whale-fishery at this port, and he built 
the first sperm oil factory located here. He also was an importer of 
foreign goods, and carried on a flourishing and extensive business, 
for those days, until it was ruined by the Revolutionary War. 

The village remained an agricultural community for many 
years. Two or three sloops, indeed, fitted for the whale-fishery, and 
there was a "try-house" near the shore. Yet the site of the present 
city was covered by a forest, and the farm houses were at some dis- 
tance from the river. Not until almost fifty years had passed from 
the time when the first Joseph Russell located here were any signs 
apparent of the future commercial and industrial life of the town. 
In 1760, John Loudon, a caulker, came here from Pembroke and 
established himself as a shipbuilder. Then came Benjamin Taber, 
a boatbuilder and blockmaker ; John Alden, a house carpenter; 
Barzillai Myrick, a ship carpenter; Elnathan Sampson, a black- 
smith ; and Gideon Mosher, a mechanic, but of what trade it is not 
stated. These men, and others like them, were the pioneers of New 
Bedford's industries, and we have abundant reason to believe that they 



NEW BEDFORD. 



worked wisely and well. Not one of them was rich, even when 
judged by the limited standards of their day, but they had stout 
hearts and willing hands and so achieved a measurable share of 
success. 

In 1765, Joseph Rotch came to the village from Nantucket. He 
had selected the harbor as well adapted to the prosecution of the 
whale-fishery, and having means and enterprise he embarked in 
business with vigor, reaping much success. His settlement here 
gave to the place a great impetus, ensuring its growth and pros- 
perity. 

Up to this time the village had no name of its own. That part 
of Dartmouth which afterwards became New Bedford was then 
known as the Acushena territory. But it had now become of suf- 
ficient importance to make a distinctive name a necessity. Ac- 
cordingly, upon a public occasion, Joseph Rotch suggested, and 
the suggesdon was adopted, that the name should be "Bedford," in 
honor of Joseph Russell, who bore the lamily name of the Duke of 
Bedford. This, it must be remembered, was in the "Old Colony 
days," wiien New England was under the rule of the king, and the 
compliment was probably then much more apparent than it is now. 

Prosperit}' came to the thrift}- and industrious village. Its 
population grew and its enterprises flourished. The whaling fleet 
increased, and Bedford seemed fairly launched on a fortunate career. 
The war of the Revolution destro3'ed every pleasing anticipation in 
which the people had indulged. For the time, the whaling industry 
was ruined, while the young merchants saw not only their pro- 
spective gains cut oft', but their present prosperity vanish. Some of 
the inhabitants engaged in privateering, but as most of the" business 
men w^ere Qiiakers they could not conscientiously do this. The 
peaceful non-resistants, however, shared in the punishment inflicted 
upon the place by a large force from the British army. The harbor 
had become a noted rendezvous for privateers, which brought here 
their prizes and unloaded their cargoes. In retaliation, Maj.-Gen. 
Grey, under orders from Sir Henry Clinton, made a raid on the 
village on the 5th and 6th of September, 1778, destroying property 
to the value of £96,980, and inflicting a crushing blow on the settle- 
ment. The story has been well and exhaustively told elsewhere, 
and only the briefest summary of it need be given here. On the 
afternoon of September 5th, the British frigate Carysfort and several 



PAGES OF HISTORY. ^9 



transports appeared in the bay, with-between four thousand and five 
thousand troops. These were landed at Clark's Cove, to avo.d pass- 
ing a fort which guarded the mouth of Acushnet river. The troops 
marched up Ure County road to the village, where they burned 
thirtv-four vessels, ten dwelling houses, and about twenty-five other 
buildings, including a rope walk and a distillery. While the troops 
were marching up the County road, they fired upon and killed 
Abraham Russell, Thomas Cook, and Diah Traft-ord. Th,s was the 
first blood shed in this neighborhood in the Revolution. The Bnt.sh 
soldiery marched to the head of the river, through what ,s now 
Acushnet, and down on the Fairhaven side, re-embarkmg on then- 
vessels at Sconticut Neck. !,,„,.„ 
When peace came, the people went bravely a work to .e- 
build their shattered fortunes. How well they succeeded is told m 
other chapters of this volume. 

After the war was over, the village rapidly grew, and in a lew 
vears it was ready to set up for itself as an independent "";"'=■?"'•>•■ 
in 1787, it was severed from the old township of Dartmomh, and to. 
the firs, time became New Bedford. The prefix '' New was 
adopted to distinguish the town from another Bedford, in another 
art'of the State.' The division of the old town of Dartmouth ^. 
strenuously opposed, not only by all the inhabitants of that part 
of the town which would still remain as Dartmouth, but by many 
who lived in the territory of Bedford. Some of these latter remon- 
strants, in a paper which is still on file among the archives of the 
iTcreLv of 'state of Massachusetts, assert that '^ey "have bee 
particula'rlv happy in contemplating the idea ot our union with and 
coniunction to a town of superior consequence, holding lank and 
place among the principal and most respectable towns in this Com 
n nwealth.' This is one of the reasons they assign 'or opposing 
the division, while the other is that "at a time of general distie. 
when the burdens of taxation are heavy upon us, we «PP-hend '^ 
the additional expense of a representative and a «hok -';' ^ 
officers, a grammar school master and the apparatus of public 
bui dings wm be more than ten times sufficient to outweigh everj 
advantageous consideration." But such arguments as the e were 
seen to I of litde weight in the face of the e-dent nee s ity fo a 
division, and on the 23d of February, 1787. die bill ■neorpo'-ating 
teZ'n of New Bedford became a law. The new town included. 



20 



NEW BEDFORD. 



beside the New Bedford of the present day, what is now Fairhaven 
and Acushnet. The territory of the two huter towns was set oiY in 
1812, the division being the result of irreconcilable political views 
between the dwellers on the opposite sides of the Acushnet river. 
Many years after, Fairhaven was divided, and the town of Acushnet 
was carved from its north end. At intervals slight changes have 
been made in the town and city lines, but they remain today substan- 
tially as first drawn. 

In 1847. New Bedford was incorporated as a cit} . The conduct 
of its affairs was entrusted to a city council, consisting of a ma3'or 
and six aldermen, and a common council of four members from each 
of the six wards. A school committee of three members from each 
ward was also instituted, with a board of overseers of the poor and 
other necessar}' officials. In substance, the government of the cit}- 
now remains as at first, though there have been some changes in 
detail. The list of mayors and the years in which they served the 
city is as follows : 



1847-;")!, Abraham H. Howland. 

1852, AVilliam J. Kotch. 

1853-54, Rodney French. 

1855-56, George Howland, .Jr. 

1857-58,* George H. Diinliar. 

18.59, WMllard Nye. 

1860-Gl, and to Sept. 29, 18G2, Isaac C. 
Taber. 

1862, from Sept. 29; 1863-65, George 
Howland, .Jr. 

1866-67, .John H. Perry. 



1868-69, Andrew G. Pierce. 
1870-72, George B. Richmond. 

1873, George H. Dunbar. 

1874, George B. Richmond. 
1875-76, Abraham H. Howland, .Ii'. 

1877, Alanson Borden. 

1878, George B. Richmond. 
1879-80, William 'J\ Soule. 
1881-84, George Wilson. 
188.5-88, Morgan Rotch. 



The growth of the population of New Bedford is exhibited in 
the following table, compiled from the census reports. It gives also 
the population of the towns which have been cut oft^ from it. 

Year. New Bedford. Fairliaveii. Acuslinot. 

1790 3,313 

1800 4,361 

1810 5,651 

1820 3,947 2,733 

1830 7.592 3,034 

1840 12,087 3,951 

1850 16,443 4,304 

1855 20,389 . . . . • .... 4,693 

1860 22,300 3,118 1,387 

1865 20,8.53 2,-547 1,251 

1870 21,320 • • . 2,626 1,132 

1875 25,895 2,768 1,059 

1880 26,845 2,875 1,105 

1885 33,393 2,880 1,071 



*Tlie municipal year was cliaiigeil in 18.57, ami Mayor Puiil)ar's first, term was only nine niontliH 




:^m\ 



PAGES OF HISTORY. 23 



The following tabular statement, compiled from the records of 
the assessors of taxes, shows the progress of New Bedford in wealth 
since 1850. The first column gives the number of poll taxes as- 
sessed in each of the years indicated. The other columns explain 
themselves. 

Year. Polls. Real Estate. Personal Estate. Total Valuation. 

18.50 .... 3,627 §18,632,600 

185.5 .... 4,325 25,597,100 

1860 .... 5,317 .... #9,157,200 .... #13,955,700 .... 23,112,900 
1865 .... 4,578 .... 8,161,800 .... 12,171,800 .... 20,333,600 
1870 .... 5,251 .... 8,774,500 .... 14,221,514 .... 22,996,014 
1875 .... 6,226 .... 11,946,600 .... 14,428,674 . . . 26,375,274 
1880 .... 7.028 .... 13,1.38,400 .... 13,137,519 .... 26,275,919 
1885 .... 8,349 .... 16,293,800 .... 15,104,090 .... 31,.397,890 
1888 .... 9,424 .... 18,023,700 .... 15,430,647 .... 33,454,347 

This brief sketch of the history of New Bedford may fittingly 
close with a reference to the record of New Bedford in the Civil War. 
In few cities in the countr\' was a deeper interest felt in the conflict, 
and scarcelv one did more in proportion to its means and its popula- 
tion to uphold the cause of the Union. New Bedford men were 
among the first to respond to the call tbr troops, and New Bedford 
soldiers and sailors faithfully helped fight the battles of freedom until 
the war had ended. When the first call was made, the City Guards, 
then included in the Third Regiment, responded at once, leaving 
NewBedtbrd on the morning of April 16, 1861, two days after Major 
Anderson had evacuated Fort Sumter. These men were ordered 
into service for only three months, but most of them afterwards 
re-enlisted and served through the war. When the subsequent calls 
were made, other companies were organized, and including these, 
the men who enlisted in regiments mainly recruited in other parts of 
the State, and men who enlisted in the navy. New Bedford furnished 
about thirty-two hundred men for the war, which was a surplus of 
eleven hundred and ten men over the demands made upon her. It 
gave one hundred and twenty officers to the military service, and it 
furnished many officers to the na\y. Its city government appro- 
priated and expended on account of the war, $177,000. This 
was exclusive of money expended for aid to families of volunteers, 
and afterwards refunded by the Commonwealth, amounting to 
$125,495.85. 

This is a remarkable showing lor a city as small as New Bed- 
ford was then, and whose chief industry received a tremendous blow 



24 NEW BEDFORD. 



from the war. But we think it was not so remarkable as the work 
of the women of New Bedford in their appropriate way in aid of the 
war for the Union. Two days after the tirst men left New Bedford 
for southern battlefields, the women of the city had a meeting and 
organized for the work. How well they succeeded is shown by the 
record of their contributions for the relief and comfort of the soldiers. 
The Ladies' Soldiers' Relief Society gave upwards of $20,000 in 
money ; in cotton cloth and flannel, $4000 ; and in hospital stores, 
$6000. The Society for the Comfort and Rehef of our Soldiers in 
Hospitals gave an immense amount of clothing and hospital stores, 
aggregating man}' thousand dollars in value. 



CHAPTER II 



THE WHALE-FISHERY. 




HE history of the New England whale- 
fishery is so interwoven with the his- 
tory of New Bedford during the last 
century," said Hon. William W. 
Crapo, in an oration delivered at the 
municipal celebration of the centen- 
nial of national independence, "that 
they cannot be separated ; and no 
record of the growth and business of 
our town and city can be complete 
without it. Our wealth, our population, and our progress have been 
the fruits of this industry ; and our position and fame among the 
cities of the v/orld is due to its successful prosecution." 

The thriving manufacturing cit^^ of New Bedford of 1888 is 
the outgrowth of a settlement of fishermen, — fishermen on a large 
scale, — who drew to them the mechanics and traders needed to sup- 
ply their wants and formed the nucleus of the city of today. New 
Bedford's wealth was brought from the depths of the ocean by her 
sons, who braved ever}' danger, accepted every hazard, and fear- 
lessly entered unknown regions in pursuit of their prey. Gathered 
from the ocean, at her own peril. New Bedford's wealth impoverished 
no other's treasury, and for the distinction of being the wealthiest city 
of her size in the Union she owes no debt save to her own sons. 
The Whaling City today, as one hundred years ago, is the home of 
the great industry. First at the flood tide, she is still first at the ebb- 
ing. The discover}^ of petroleum with the advent of earth oils was a 



26 NEW BEDFORD. 



severe blow to the whale-fishery. With keen foresight the old New 
Bedford whalemen pierced the future's veil, discerning the inevitable 
decline of the whale-fishery. Fresh fields were sought for invest- 
ment, and the capital for mills, factories, and founderies was at once 
forthcoming. The old whaling port w'as transformed into a bustling 
work-shop and her future was assured. Yet today the whaling is 
h\ no means the least important of her industries, lor in it she leads 
the world, as she will while a whale remains in the deep. The 
change was but a manifestation of the enterprise and progress which 
characterize the New Bedford whale--fishermen. 

This whale-fishery, in the prosecution of which New Bedford 
surpassed all the world and so greatly and rapidly increased her 
wealth, is of very ancient origin, dating back to the days of Alexander 
the Great. The Dutch were engaged in the pursuit and Northmen 
sought the great fish before the voyages of Columbus. In the New 
World the whale-fishery is contemporar}- with the settlement of New 
York and the New England colonies. It was first established along 
the shores of Long Island as early as 1640. Some thirty years after, 
came the first w^haling expedition from Nantucket, which was under- 
taken by some of the original purchasers of the island. A whale 
came into the harbor and continued there three daj's. The curiosity 
of the villagers was excited, and, determined to prevent his escape, 
they invented and wrought a harpoon with which they attacked and 
killed the monster. This encouraged them to make whaling a per- 
manent business, as whales were numerous about the shores, and the 
pursuit was soon extensively carried on in small boats. In 1672 
the islanders, eager lor further knowledge, sent to the main land for 
whalers from Cape Cod and Easthampton, L. I., to instruct them in 
the art. By 17 15 the people of Nantucket were pursuing the whales 
upon the ocean in small sloops and schooners, making brief voyages, 
bringing home the blubber and trying out the oil on the shore. This 
was in the primitive days of whaling. 

In the vicinit}' of New^ Bedford whaling probably commenced 
about 1760. To Joseph Russell, the founder of the city, is attributed 
the honor of being the pioneer of the whale-fishery, he having been 
engaged in the business as early as 1755. His calling demanded the 
use of boats, consequently the earliest settlers of the town were 
industrious and enterprising mechanics and the earliest settlement 
was of an industrial more than an agricultural character. In 1765, 



THE WHALE-FISHERY. 



29 



Joseph Rotch, of Nantucket, an enterprising merchant of experience 
and knowledge, selected New Bedford harbor as eligible and advan- 
tageous for the prosecution of the whale-fishery and brought to the 
village an acquisition of capital which had been needed to stimulate 
the industry. Mr. Rotch purchased land, built ships and sent them out. 
New Bedford brains designed the vessels and planned their voyages. 
New Bedford hands built them and then manned them on the sea. 
Thus were born many allied industries on the land, and refineries 
and candle factories, with other important branches of business, were 
established. In the year of Mr. Rotch's arrival four sloops, from 40 
to 60 tons burden, were engaged in the business. These small ves- 
sels usually sailed in pairs and so long as they kept company the 
blubber of the captured whales was divided equally among them. 
The voyages were gradually extended and, in the ten years follow- 
ing, the whaling fleet was increased from two or three small vessels 
to fifty of larger size. In 1774 New Bedford sent vessels to the 
Falkland Islands, and it was the enterprise and daring of those 
whalemen that inspired Edmund Burke's eloquent tribute to the 
industry in the House of Commons. The War of the Revolution 
checked the growth of the industry and almost stamped out the busi- 
ness. Joseph Russell lost most of his property and the same may 
be said of all whose interests were on the sea. Mr. Rotch left the 
town and remained away during the war. Long before this, New 
Bedford had outstripped all competitors in the industry and her ships 
were scattered throughout the world in every navigable w^ater. 

"It is a remarkable coincidence," commented Hon. W. W. 
Crapo in his centennial address, "that the war which had been pre- 
cipitated in the destruction of tea thrown overboard from the Dart- 
mouth, a ship owned by Francis Rotch of the village of Bedford, 
should have associated with its close the advent in English waters of 
the ship Bedford as the first vessel floating the American flag in any 
British port." The Bedford sailed from New Bedford harbor before 
the war. 

Many difficulties were found after the war in replacing the ves- 
sels which had been burned by the British or fallen into disuse and 
decay. The English government placed a heavy alien duty on oil 
with the object of forcing the industry to her own harbors. For a 
time Britain was successful in this, but the persistency and persua- 
siveness of New Bedford's citizens obtained the privilege of sending 



30 



NEW BEDFORD. 



oil to ports of other countries free of duty. The work of developing 
the industry earl}^ in the nineteenth century was slow and difficult, 
with the many hazards encountered on the sea and the opposition of 
foreign powers on the land. No marked improvement was manifest 

until after the close of the war 
of 1812. During that war ships 
were captured and destroyed 
or used as transports by the 
British. After its termination 
the whale-fisher}^ as prosecuted 

«- 




in New Bedford advanced 

with great rapidity and sue- ^ 

cess. The city continued 

to lead all other ports in 

the whaling interests. 

From the year 1820 until 

the year 1857 the city's prosperity and accumulation of wealth were 

uninterrupted. The whaling industry reached its highest point in 

capital, in vessels, and in tonnage in 1857. Its fleet of 329 ships and 



THE WHALE-FISHERY. 3I 

whaling outfits was worth more than twelve millions of dollars and 
required more than ten thousand seamen. The largest importations 
ot oil and bone were in 185 1 and 1853. The quantities of each with 
the prices realized from their sale were as follows : 

1851. 

99,591 barrels sperm oil, at .$1.27^ per gallon ;^.3,991,980.75 

;}28,483 barrels wliale oil, at .4.-)i per gallon 4,682,114.56 

3,960,.100 pounds bone, at .34^ per pound 1, 368,442.-50 



.$10,042,.537.81 

1853- 

10.'5,()77 barrels sperm oil, at $1.24 i| per gallon .$4,0.50,539.56 

260,114 barrels whale oil, at .58i per gallon 4,762,524.77 

5,652,300 pounds bone, at .34^ per pound 1,950,043.50 

$10,763,107.83 

The depredations of rebel cruisers at the opening of the Civil 
War carried dismay into our whaling fleets as early as 1862, but the 
great loss occurred in June, 1865, when the Shenandoah entered into 
Behring strait and captured and burned twenty-five ships, most of 
them of large size, and bonded four others for the purpose of furnish- 
ing transportation. Fiftv whaling vessels were captured by the rebel 
cruisers, of which forty -six with outfits and cargoes were burned. Of 
this number twenty-eight sailed from and were owned in New Bedlbrd. 
The loss of ships and outfits belonging here exceeded one million 
of dollars, and of oil and bone on board, $400,000. Many ships were 
sold during the war or were transferred to the merchant service. 
Some in the Pacific ocean were put under the Hawaiian flag. Of 
those sold forty w^ere purchased hy the United States and formed the 
larger portion of the two famous stone fleets which in 1861 were sunk 
off" the harbors of Charleston and Savannah to prevent the entrance 
of blockade runners and the ingress and egress of privateers. Of 
these vessels the greater number were New Bedford whalers. In 
September, 187 1, thirty -three ships were abandoned in the Arctic 
ocean hopelessly crushed in the ice. Twelve hundred men were 
hemmed in by the ice and escaped only alter a perilous journey ot 
seventy miles. Of the thirty-three vessels crushed or abandoned, 
twenty-two belonged in New Bedford and were valued without the oil 
and bone on board at $1,090,000. In 1S76 twelve ships were aban- 



32 NEW BEDFORD. 



doned in the Arctic. Fifty lives were lost and $660,000 worth of 
property was destroyed. 

The latest momentous disaster to befall the whaling industry was 
on the third of August, 1888, when five vessels were lost in a terrific 
gale oft' Point Barrow^ in the Arctic ocean. Three of these vessels 
were ow^ned in New Bedford — the ship Young Phoenix and barks 
Mary & Susan and Fleetwino; — and the loss sustained by the New 
Bedford owners was about $60,000. These whalers were anchored 
between Cape Smith and Point Barrow, waiting for the ice to break 
up. All the vessels in the fleet suffered by the storm and were 
succored by the U. S. R. M. steamers Thetis and Bear, which carried 
the shipwrecked whalemen to San Francisco. Scarcely a season 
goes by without some similar disaster, and the whole life of an Arctic 
whaleman is crowded with danger and sufi'ering. 

From natural causes the whale-fishery began to decline before 
some of these disasters occurred, and the shipping has never been 
replaced except by the building of an occasional vessel ; but the 
capital that could again have sent out great fleets on the sea to 
replace those fired by the pirate's torch or whose timbers are entombed 
in Arctic ice and snow contributed to the varied industries of the 
city. 

The average price of sperm oil for the year 1887 was 66 cents, of 
whale oil 32 cents, and of bone $3.12. The reader will glean from 
this the truth, that the value of the catch in late years depends 
largely on the bone secured, which is by far the most important feat- 
ure of many whalers' cargoes. It is within the remembrance of 
many an old whaleman when this bone, now so precious, w^as dumped 
over the ship's side as waste or only saved by the sailors for "scrim- 
shaw work," as they termed their employment in idle hours on ship- 
board in making curious knick-knacks for friends on shore. When 
first saved, the bone had a market value of only a few cents a pound. 
In 1823 it was worth about 12 cents. From that it jumped to 25, then 
30 and 40, as its value became more apparent, and when the demand 
increased the price rapidly rose to about the present figures. While 
substitutes were found tor the other products of the whale-fishery, 
inventive genius in vain has strived to supply an article that wnll fill 
the place of the whalebone. Russian horn, celluloid, — artificial and 
natural substances alike have been tried, but none will answer the 
purpose. The discovery of petroleum was timely, for the increasing 



THE WHALE-FISHERY. 35 



demands of the New and the Old World could never have been sup- 
plied by whale oil, but it is reserved for the future to find that substi- 
tute which can fill the place of the bone which now advances in price 
with its ever-growing consumption. 

A rough estimate shows the capital today invested in the whale- 
fisher}' in the world to be not far from two and a quarter millions dol- 
lars. Of this New Bedford alone has an interest of a million and 
three-quarters — seven-ninths of the industry being managed in New 
Bedford. 

Despite its decline, it is an undisputed fact that the whale-fishery 
of our city, as now carried on, has a larger interest than the whal- 
ing of the whole outside world together. 

The statistics given herewith will show the reader something of 
the magnitude of New Bedford's present whaling interests. 

Vessels Employed in the Whale-fishery January i, 1888. 

Ships and Barks. Brigs. Scliooners. Tons. 

New Bedford, 62 2 10 18,911 

Edgartowii, 2 1 1 012 

ProviDcetown, -....-...I 8 881 

Boston, - ] 2 290 

New London, - - 3 491 

Stoniugtou, - - 2 180 

San Francisco, 19 1 1 6,480 



Totalfor January 1, 1888, . 83 27 27,851 

Importations 

Of sperm oil, whale oil, and whalebone into the United States 
in 1887 : 

Barrels Sperm. Barrels Whale. Pomuls Boue. 

New Bedford, 13,505 2,503 15,370 

Boston, 1,366 - 

Provincetown, 486 44 490 

New London - 1,120 6,049 

New York, 2,576 (534 1,408 

San Francisco, 880 29,870 561,694 



Total, 18,873 34,171 585,011 

In studying this table the reader must bear in mind that the great 
New Bedford Arctic fleet has its rendezvous at San Francisco, and 



36 NEW BEDFORD. 

that the New Bedford whalemen bring into that port an immense 
amount of oil and bone, which swells the figures of the importations of 

San Francisco given above. The magnitude, however, of the busi- 
ness of New Bedford is shown b}' the fact that the total value of oils 
and whalebone imported into New Bedford for the past half century 

was $141,290,177. The following table compiled by B. F. H. Reed 
shows the average prices of whale catchings for half a centur}^ and 
the value of oil and whalebone received at New Bedford : 

Date. S]ieriii oil per j,'-al. Wlialc oil iier .ual. M'liak'boiiu ]wv ikiuihI. \';iluc ol ratcli. 

1835 $.84 ,$.30 $.24 

1S36 88 44 . . < 25 

1837 82 33 22 

18.38 85 32 19 !Si2.4!»(),0,-.] 

1839 1.04 34 19 2,385,337 

1840 1.01 31 19 2,.344,142 

1841 94 32 20 2,2(i4.1.30 

1842 73 .34 23 2,337,-545 

1843 G3 34 35 1,793,350 

1844 90 36 40 3,104,695 

1845 88 33 34 2,707,117 

1846 88 34 34 2,182,403 

1847 1.00 36 . . .• 31 3,383,-562 

1848 1.00 33 25 2,913,483 

1849 1.09 40 32 • . . 2,765,460 

18.50 1.21 49 34 3,279,695 

18,51 1.27 45 34 4,812,395 

18,52 1.24 08 51 2,853,862 

1853 1.25 58 34 2,733,015 

1854 1.49 ,59 39 5,924,.362 

1855 1.77 71 45 5,283,120 

1856 1.62 79 58 5,.364,700 

18,57 1.28 73 97 6,178,728 

18,58 1.21 .54 92 4,605,523 

18,59 1.36 48 77 5,831,564 

I860 1.41 49 79 4,216,696 

1861 1.31 45 70 3,384,463 

1862 1.27 .51 85 2,695,167 

1863 1.11 60 1.00 2,708,912 

1864 96 63 90 2,370,644 

1865 1.45 93 1.02 2,870,838 

1866 1.82 88 95 3,137,088 

1867 1.70 54 85 2,874,602 

1868 1.39 68 73 4,756,040 

1869 1.38 77 90 ...... . 3,168,140 

1870 1.20 .59 77 2,981,012 

1871- ...... 1.18 54 82 2,547,071 

1872 1.32 60 1.27 1,893,235 



THE WIIAL]<:-I-ISin:RN-. 



37 



l>;itc. S|K'ini oil jier gal. Wluilc oil iier gal. Wlialeljoiie per iiduikI. \'aluc of catcli. 

i87;j $i.;n .1^.54 a.ij.s .Si,s;w,ii2 

lS7t 1.44 5,-) '.)!) 1,9,'50,5;^4 

1875 1.41 .-)7 1.12 2,3S2,45G 

1S7('. 1.25 54 l.!)0 1,717,:K^ 

1877 1.07 55 2.:!(; 1,450,08.'? 

1878 90 4;{ 2.42 1,780,585 

1879 84 39 2.:^4 1,7.'?5,190 

1880 99 51 2.00 2.014,088 

1881 88 48 l.d.'i 1,053,108 

1882 1.00 ,53 1.71 1.395,455 

1883 97 54 2.87 1,048,266 

1884 85 .5(; 3.55 1,084,986 

1885 82 45 2.08 1,429,554 

1880 74 33 2.73 1,042,-530 

1887 00 32 3.12 1,642,794 

The statistics for the term of suspension of specie payments dur- 
ing and after the war Mr. Reed based upon gold values. 

The following shows the number of whaling vessels belonging 

to New Bedford and their tonnage for the past fifty years, with the 
exception of two or three years not easily obtainable : 



Date 
Sypt. 1 
Oct. 1 
.T;iii. 1 
.lull. 1 
.liiii. 1 
.l:in. 1 
Jan. 1 
.(an. 1 
Jan. 1 
Jan. 1 
Jan. 1 
Jan. 1 



Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 

Jan. 1 



Vessel!^. Tonuagc. 

1839 177 56,118 

1841 201. 63,6.59 

1844 219 09,703 

1845 23y 70,784 

1846 2.54 86,633 

1847 254 82,701 

1848 248 80,946 

1849 2.50 81,075 

18.50 238 77,138 

1851 249 81,442 

1852 282 94,642 

18.53 311 104,005 

107,512 



18.54 
1855 
1856 



318 

314 105,4.59 

320 107,702 

329 111,364 



1857 

18.58 324 110,207 

1859 316 107,931 

800 301 103,564 



1 

1861 
1802 
1863 



291 98,760 

200 86,971 

220 73,061 

1864 197 64,815 

1805 175 58,042 

]8C6 164 50,403 



38 



NEW BEDFORD. 



j)jjte Vessels. Tonnage. 

Jan. 1, 1867 181 •^;^>744 

Jan. 1, 18GS 182 52,652 

Jan. 1, 1869 179 50,810 



Jan. 1, 1S70 



176 50,675 



Jan. 1, 1871 175 50,100 



Jan. 1, 1872 



144 40,286 



Jaa. 1, 1873 130 36,725 

Jan. 1, 1874 113 32,594 

Jan. 1, 1875 107 29,541 

Jan. 1. 1876 116 31,691 

Jan. 1, 1877 118 30,465 

Jan. 1, 1878 130 33,444 

Jan. 1. 1879 132 33,368 

Jan. l' 1880 125 31,899 

Jan. 1, 1881 123 31,376 

Jan. 1, 1882 Ill 28,186 

Jan. 1, 1883 106 27.140 

Jan. 1, 1884 93 22,877 

Jan. 1, 1885 85 21,728 

Jan. 1, 1886 . . . • 77 19,913 

Jan. 1, 1887 77 19,667 

Jan. 1, 1888 74 18,911 

The increase in 1846 was caused by the demand for vessels for 
the bowhead fishery, then just discovered in the Okhotsk and Kam- 
chatka seas and the Arctic ocean. In 1850 the CaHfornia emigration 
had an effect in the opposite direction. 

One of the most important features of the whaling industry of 
today is the steam whaling. The steam whaler is an outgrowth of 
the necessities of Arctic whaling. It was soon found of the first 
importance to enter and leave the frozen seas with the greatest expe- 
dition. To a brainy seaman of New Bedford the idea of the appli- 
cation of steam at once suggested itself. He saw at a glance its 
possibilities — a quicker excursion to the Arctic, a longer stay with 
diminished danger of being nipped in the ice, and a greath' increased 
facility in pursuing the chase for the monster of the deep. With the 
characteristic enterprise and keenness of the hardy New Englander, 
he at once put his idea into practice. With ready money a steamer 
was built which revolutionized the methods of whaling, increased the 
catch, and was at once followed by others, until now the fleet of 
steam whalers is of prime importance in the industry. A description 
of one of these vessels will suffice for all. The William Lewis, the 
latest addition to the fleet of steam whalers, w'as built at Bath, Maine, 



TOE WHALE-FISHERY. 



39 




in the summer of il 
and has left New Bed- 
ford for the Sandwich 
Islands, whence she 
will sail for the Arctic 
ocean in 1889. This 
vessel, which is bark 
rigged, is in some re- 
spects one of the finest 
of steam whalers. Of 
460 tons gross tonnage, 
she is 145 feet long, 
with 30 feet breadth of 
beam, and the depth 
of her hold is i6i- feet. 
She is built entirely of 
live oak and white 
oak, copper and iron 
fastened. Her plank- 
ing is of white oak, and 
she IS sheathed with 
tuo mch hickory to 
piotect her hull from 



GROUP OF OLD WHALERS. 



BARK ROSSEAU 



40 



NEW BEDFORD. 



the ice. Her stem is protected by heavy composition plates. To 
prevent her from being crushed if pinched by the ice, she has three 
sets of pointers forward and two aft. She is provided with a Provi- 
dence steam windhiss which is worked by steam power and is a very 
powerful labor-saving piece of mechanism. The vessel has a 4^ com- 
pound engine, of 22 inches diameter of high pressure cylinder, 38 
inches diameter of low pressure cylinder, and 26 inch stroke, fitted 
with independent adjustable cut-off valve. The shaft makes 100 rev- 
olutions per minute. The main cabin is unusually large, finished in 
ash with black walnut trimmings. A mahogany dining table occu- 
pies the centre of the floor. It has an extension at the forward end. 



IllilllllilillllJllillliiilllllliliilliillllliiilllllilllllilllllliliiliiil^ 




SEAMEN'S BETHEL AND MARINERS' HOME. 

On the port side are three staterooms and a water closet, the last 
named leading from a passage on deck just forward of the wheel 
house. On the starboard side out of the main cabin are two large 
rooms, — the chief engineer's room and pantry, the latter being well 
supplied witli lockers and drawers. Just forward of the engineer's 
room, in the passage-wa}' to the main deck, are two state rooms, fin- 
ished for other officers. The cabin is heated by steam. Al"t of the 
main cabin is the captain's cabin, in ash, with the same trimmings 
as the main cabin, and supplied with furniture of the most attractive 



THE WHALE-FISHERY. 4I 

patterns. The chairs and sofa are upholstered in brown plush and a 
Brussels carpet is on the floor. Adjoining this room on the star- 
board side is the captain's state room, furnished in a stNJe in keeping 
with other furniture on the ship. The steerage on the port side 
forward of the cabin is fitted with eight berths and is heated by steam, 
while the forecastle, which is very large and contains twenty-two 
berths, is also heated by steam. The vessel has a large poop deck, 
on the forward part of which is a platform surroimded bv a rail. 
This place is used as a lookout, and has communication with the 
engine room. Forward of the cabin is the engine, and just forward of 
the engine is the boiler. The cook's galley is aft of the mainmast 
and forward of the boiler. The wheel-house is aft and the steering 
gear is the Edison patent. On deck are two " try-pots," each capable 
of holding two hundred gallons, in which the blubber is tried out 
after being cut up. Between decks are large iron tanks, each hold- 
ing one hundred barrels of oil. These tanks are to receive oil from 
the cooler and from them it is run through pipes into the lower hold 
to fill the casks. This description of one of the finest steam whalers 
ever built will give the reader as good an idea as words can present 
of this class of vessels, their protection against the ice of the north, 
and the comfort afforded their crews. She bears the name of the 
pioneer of steam whaling, a man to whose energy and enterprise the 
industry is greatly indebted. 

For those who have not lived in a seaboard town it would be hard 
to imagine the cosmopolitan aspect of the whaling port of New Bed- 
ford in the great days of whaling. For those whose fortunes were 
cast alono- the coast the animated scenes at a wharf where a whaler 
is fitting are in striking contrast to the humdrum though busy life 
on their own piers attending the loading and unloading of merchant 
vessels. Representatives of every nation on the face of the world 
contribute to a whaler's crew. The typical Yankee's nasal twang, the 
Frenchman's jargon, the Irishman's brogue, the South Sea Islander's 
guttural tones, the Spaniard's oaths, mingled with the strange speech of 
the Portuguese, the Swede, the Norwegian, the German, the Italian, 
the Malay, and the Chinese, — every tongue is heard in a surprisingly 
weird medley. Coal black "Bravas'* from the Cape Verd islands 
jostle against the Americanized African negro and intermingle with a 
motley group of sailors voluntarily exiled from their homes in Pico, 
San Miguel, Fayal, Flores, Corvo, and other islands of the Azores. 



42 NEW BEDFORD. 



In curious contrast to these men of swarthy complexion are the light 
haired men of northern Europe. Here indeed is a congress of 
nations. Such an ethnological study with the living subjects for 
man}' years presented itself daily to the stranger in New Bedford. 

The great Arctic fleet now has its rendezvous at San Francisco, 
where the ships are fltted out, and in the middle of February a host of 
the New Bedford ship masters and seamen make a hurried trip across 
the continent to join their vessels, returning to their homes early 
in November at the conclusion of their voyages into the frozen 
north. 

x\t New Bedford all the ships but the Arctic fleet are now fitted 
out, the work giving employment and business to mechanics and 
tradesmen of every description. In the past, many whalers were built 
here, and no better constructed craft ever sailed the seas. They were 
built on honor, and integrity and conscientiousness went in with every 
bolt and timber. But with the decline of whaling, the ship yards were 
one alter another abandoned, and a large part of the population of New 
Bedford can now scarcely remember the spectacle of a launching. 
Some of the fleet, in the days when a great demand for ships existed, 
were purchased from the merchant service and transformed into 
whalers. For voyages in southern waters the vessels do not need the 
stout armor that surrounds those that are destined to push through 
frozen waters. When the blacksmith, the cooper, the ship carpenter, 
the caulker, the sailmaker, the painter, and the rigger have finished 
their labors the vessel is in readiness for her outfit. In years past the 
first step was to fill her ground tier with salt water, partly as ballast. 
In those days the whalers had three tiers. At this time, however, the 
greater number have but two and only fresh water is taken aboard. 
First comes some five hundred barrels of water, then fifty barrels of 
salt provision, fifty or sixty barrels of flour in bread, and twenty 
barrels filled with uncooked flour. A thousand gallons of molasses, 
four hundred pounds of coffee and the same amount of sugar follow. 
Household stores of almost every kind are represented, and the fur- 
nishings embrace a wonderful variety of articles. An estimate of the 
fittings in 1858, when sixty-five ships sailed from New Bedford, 
showed an expenditure of almost two million dollars, and included 
flour, meal, beef, pork, salt, molasses, rice, beans, dried apples, sugar, 
butter, cheese, ham, codfish, coffee, tea, raisins, corn, potatoes, onions, 
vinegar, sperm candles, fresh water, oak and pine wood, staves, head- 



THE WHALE-FISHERY. 45 

ino-, iron hoops, rivets, sheathing copper and N'ellovv metal, sheath 
nails, coppering nails, tar, cordage, boat-boards, pine boards, flags, 
bricks, lime, canvas, cotton twine, cotton cloth, tobacco, white lead, 
linseed oil, paint, liquors, gun powder, and clothing. These were 
only the principal articles. The catalogue in detail is astounding 
for its minuticc, showing that the whaleman pays tribute to almost 
every trade. 

Shipping a crew is not the least important task of the owner ot 
a whaleship. In the average ship, from twenty-four to thirty men 
are required. These must be selected with care, for upon their skill, 
enterprise, and endurance the success of the voyage depends. When 
the owner has provided a good ship and has furnished her with 
every appliance for her work, he must still trust the success of the 
voyage to the men who are selected to conduct it. Ordinarily, the 
crew includes : The master, usually a man of long experience and 
tried ability, w^ho has served in many subordinate positions under 
skilled captains : the mates, three or four in number, daring, alert 
seamen, with the ambition to show themselves w^orthy the command 
of a vessel ; the boat steerers, brawny sons of the sea, with quick 
eye and ready decision in emergencies ; the steward and cook, men 
of great importance on shipboard ; a cooper, whose duties are mdi- 
cated by his title, and who is often an adept at many trades ; and 
the sailors, who are usually graded as seamen, ordinary seamen, and 
green hands. Among these latter may often be found smart, active 
young men from the country, destined in years to come to be masters 
of shTps, because they are built of the timber found in the masterly 
sailor. The way to the cabin is often long and difficult, and the 
seekers for distinction in the whaling service experience the same dis- 
couragements and disappointments that come to the ambidous in all 
other pursuits. 

The introducdon of the steam whaler has added to the officers 
of the vessel the engineer, and to the crew the firemen. 

When the ship is ready for sea, she is towed out of the harbor 
by a stuffy little tug and is soon, with all sail set, oflf on her voyage. 
The first night out all hands are called at\ to tell oft' the watches and 
select boats' crews. The regulations to be observed on shipboard are 
read and the master gives general instrucdons to be obeyed during the 
voyage. On the first calm day the boats are lowered, and the green 
hands are taught their places and the handling of their oars. Many 



^6 NEW BEDFORD. 



a poor boy has had a dreaded attack of seasickness or the equally 
dreaded malady, homesickness, but a considerate New Bedford cap- 
tain practices forbearance and the stricken ones are excused from dut}- 
aloft and are soon in a condition to resume their work. 

The sailors are divided into boats' crews of six. When whales are 
sighted frequenlh' all the boats are lowered at once. Six men remain 
aboard as ship keepers, while their comrades in the several boats 
lessen the chance of the escape of their prey. When the leviathan is 
neared the boatsteerer throws the irons and at once changes positions 
with the boatheader, who is generally the master of the ship or one 
of the officers, and whose duty it is to strike the whale with the lance. 
The officer does this, going forward as the boat draws to the whale's 
side. The great monster spouts blood, the sign of the throes of 
death, and often this ends the chase, nothing remaining but to tow 
the whale to the ship for the processes of cutting in and boiling out. 
But frequently the pursuit does not end in this way, for the whale 
sometimes assumes the role of pursuer and enacts it with wonderful 
effect. Then is seen the most exciting and dangerous part of the 
whaleman's life. The monsters of the deep are endowed with enor- 
mous strength which, when wounded or infuriated, they use with 
terrible effect. Scores of thrilling stories are told by ever\^ old 
whaleman. A typical one is that of Capt. Mallory of the bark 
Osceola, who relates an instance in which one of his boats struck a 
large sperm whale. Soon after another boat fastened to him and 
was stove. Then trom the first boat a bomb lance was fired into him. 
This boat was at once stove by the whale, the bottom being knocked 
completely out. The ship picked up the swimming crews and was 
then steered for the whale. On seeing his new antagonist he rushed 
at her, striking her on the bow, knocking oft' the cutwater with his 
head, and tearing the copper and sheathing from her bow with his 
jaw. The ship was again run for him. and as she ranged alongside 
two bomb and two whale lances were fired into the whale. A boat 
was then lowered and two more bomb lances were discharged into 
him without effect. By this time it was night, and the boat was called 
aboard. The ship was kept near the whale, which could be occasion- 
ally heard fighting the fragments of boats and oars. "Thus through 
the night," continues the narrator of this episode, " he held his ground, 
although he had two lines (600 fathoms) towing on to the harpoons, 
five bombs exploded in him, and other wounds from lances." The 



THE WHALE-FISHERY. 



49 



next morning the attack was renewed with bomb lances and thirtv- 
one were fired into him before he was killed. 

No limit to these exciting stories has ever vet been lound. 
The readers ot" this book will be more interested in them than in the 
statistical tables of the catchings and valuations, important as thev 
are. Here is the narrative of an experience which is tvpical of 
hundreds of others. The captain of the bark Parker Cook of Prov- 
incetown many years ago lowered two boats for a bull sperm whale. 
The nearest boat met him head on, and, when abreast of the hump, 
the boatsteerer put two irons into him. Before the boat could be 
brought head on, the whale jumped half out of water and capsized 
the craft, the line fouling the boatsteerer's leg, almost severing it 
from the body. Manifesting wonderful nerve and great presence of 
mind, the sailor cut the line. The other boat picked up the upset 
crew and returned to the bark. But the whale was not satisfied with 
this. He ran for the bark with all the force at his command, strikino- 
the vessel a tremendous blow, prostrating the men on deck and bury- 
ing in his head the cutwater and stem up to the planking. A second 
time he struck the vessel, but with much less force. Meanwhile the 
captain had made ready his bomb lance and lowered another boat. 
Three times, within eight yards of him, the captain fired the lance 
into his body, and eventually made him spout blood, though with 
every piercing of the lance he rushed open-mouthed at the boat, 
requiring the utmost skill and courage to avoid him. One hundred 
and three barrels of oil was the reward of the captors, who were 
obliged to put into Fayal lor medical aid for the boatsteerer, and to 
repair their damaged vessel. 

Two ships at least have been destroyed by the attacks of whales. 
One of these was the Essex of Nantucket, and the other the Ann 
Alexander of New^ Bedford. In botii these cases, the ship was 
struck by an infuriated whale and so injured that she soon sank. 
The crews were obliged to take to the boats, and suffered terribly. 
In fact, very few of the crew of the Essex survived. 

In one instance it is recorded that a whale was killed only after 
a chase of nine miles in which it carried ofi' one boat, which w as 
demolished, and nearly six miles of line. 

Another captain tells an experience in which a whale was killed 
only after nine hours' fighting. Three boats were stove, a number ol 
irons and bombs were lost, several oars were broken, and, to crown 



50 



NEW BEDFORD. 



all, the whale sunk in forty fathoms of water, carrying a large quan- 
tity of line with him. 

When the whale is dead it is taken in tow to the ship's side. 
The cutting operations are then begun. The great pieces of blubber 
are hauled over the main hatch and minced into fine pieces called 
horse pieces and the boiling begins. Water is pumped into caboose 
pens or jogs along the deck to prevent the woodwork catching fire 
Irom the try works. The casks containing the provisions, tow lines, 
or sails have been emptied and are cleansed and swabbed clean. 
The hot oil is then forced in and the casks are lashed to the rail on 
the ship's side to cool before being stowed below. Various modifica- 
tions of this process are, however, practiced in different vessels. 
When a whale is cut at night one watch boils until midnight while 
the other watch is below, and from that time until six in the 
morning the second watch takes hold. The oil once below and the 
weather good the whalemen are again on the outlook for their prey. 
From twelve hundred to two thousand barrels is a good vo^-age for 
right whalemen. Preparing the casks for the oil, it is readily seen, 
gives employment to the cooper with the shocks w^hich are stowed 
snugl}' away below on the outward trip. 

••I should like," says Capt. Davis, author of The Nimrod of the 
Sea, himself a veteran whaleman, in speaking of the right whale, 
"to convey to the reader some idea of the dimensions of the creature 
from which the bone is taken. To do so is only possible by entering 
into the details of the various parts, with their sizes, and by com- 
parison with objects familiar to the mind. The blubber, or blanket, 
of such a whale would carpet a room twenty-two yards long and nine 
yards wide, averaging half a yard in thickness. * * * gg^ ^p q^ 
saw-log two feet in diameter and twenty feet in length for the ridge 
pole of the room we pi'opose to build ; then raise it in the air fifteen 
feet, and support it with pieces of timber seventeen feet long, spread, 
say, nine feet. This will make a room nine feet wide at the bottom, 
two feet wide at the peak, and twenty feet long, and will convey an 
idea of the upper jaw, the saw-log and slanting supports representing 
the bone. * * * These w^alls of bone are clasped by the white 
blubbery lips, which at the bottom are four feet thick, tapering to a 
blunt edge, where they fit into a rebate sunk in the upper jaw. The 
throat is four feet thick, and is mainly blubber, interpenetrated b}^ 
fibrous, muscular flesh. The lips and throat of a two-hundred-and- 



THE WHALE-FISHERY. 



53 



fifty-barrel whale should yield sixty barrels of oil, and, with the sup- 
porting jaw-bones, will weigh as much as twenty-five oxen of one 
thousand pounds each. Attached to the throat by a broad base is 
the enormous tongue, the size of which can be better conceived by 
the fact that twenty-five barrels of oil have been taken from one. 
Such a tongue v/ould equal in weight ten oxen. * * * TY^q tail 
of such a whale is about twenty-five feet broad and six feet deep, and 
is considerably more forked than that of the spermaceti. The point 
of juncture with the body is about four feet in diameter, the vertebra 
about fifteen inches ; the remainder of the small being packed with 
rope-like tendons from the size of a finger to that of a man's leg. 
The great rounded joint at the base of the skull gleams like an ivory 
sphere, nearly as large round as a carriage wheel. Through the 
greatest blood-vessels, more than a foot in diameter, surges, at each 
pulsation of a heart as large as a hogshead, a torrent of barrels of 
blood heated to one hundred and four degrees. The respiratory canal 
is over twelve inches in diameter, through which the rush of air is as 
noisy as the exhaust-pipe of a thousand-horse power steam engine ; 
and when the fatal wound is given, torrents of clotted blood are 
spattered into the air over the nauseated hunters. In conclusion, the 
right whale has an eye scarcely larger than a cow's, and an ear that 
would scarcely admit a knitting-needle." 

Of the whaleships many have paid the purchaser the vessel's 
original cost, the expense of her outfitting, and something additional 
in one voyage. Many voyages are recorded in which the value of 
the catchings ranged from $65,000 to $100,000. Occasionally one 
has gone beyond this high figure. On the other hand, there have 
been voyages in which scarcely a whale has been seen. 

A sperm whaler's voyage is often extended three or four years. 
In that time the ship visits the Pacific and Indian oceans. New Zealand, 
the Society and Feejee islands, and the coast of Peru. The vessels 
leave in December, Januar3^ and February. Occasionally they make 
what is called a mixed voyage, seeking both sperm and right whales, 
taking each in its season. If whales are taken on the outward trip 
the catch is often shipped home from the Western Islands or the first 
port touched. 

A vvhaleship is like a farm. Something to be done is always the 
rule. There is no room on board for drones ; every hand must be a 
worker. While not pursuing a whale one watch — the division of 



54 NEW BEDFORD. 

officers and crew which manages the vessel — is always busy on 
deck for four hours at a time. The remainder of the crew are then 
below reading or sleeping or repairing clothes or doing such work as 
the}^ choose for themselves. Saturday is wash day, and Sunday, if 
no whale is in sight, all work is suspended ; but at the signal "There 
she blows !" everything is bustle and the Sunday quiet must be set 
aside for the business of the voyage. 

The Seamen's Bethel and Mariners' Home, illustrated on page 40 
of this book, is, to those who see it daily, a constant reminder of what 
New Bedford owes to the whale-fishery. These are under the man- 
agement of the New Bedford Port Society for the Moral Improve- 
ment of Seamen, an organization which was formed in 1830, and 
which was the direct result of concern for the moral and religious 
welfare of the thousands of seamen who were brought to New Bedford 
by the demands of the whaling industry. Under the care of faithful 
chaplains, the Bethel has done a work the influence of which has 
reached to every corner of the world, and the Mariners' Home has 
proven a welcome resting place to many a wear}^ sailor. 

The whaling industr\^ has also its newspaper organ, the Whale- 
men's Shipping List and Merchants' Transcript, which was founded 
by Henry Lindse}^ in 1843, and which has since been published weeklv. 
It is now conducted by E. P. Raymond, who has managed it since 
1861, and has owned it since 1873. No other paper like it can be 
found in the world, and few commercial journals can boast of includ- 
ing so widely separated regions in their circulation. 



CHAPTER III. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 




NE of our oldest residents received 
the other da}^ a letter of inquiry 
which interested him more than 
such a letter might have been 
expected to. He is a typical New 
Bedford citizen, who received the 
foundation of his knowledge in 
our public schools. At an early 
age he commenced a life on the 
ocean wave and later he became 
the successful master of a whaling vessel. When he was no longer 
of use in the long boat, having acquired a competency he retired from 
active business and invested his fortune in home industries, from 
which he receives an ample income. The old gentleman feels that 
he is indebted to his city in many ways and he regards it as a duty and 
a pleasure to do whatever he can for the promotion of its interests. 
The letter was as follow^s : 

My Dear Sir :— I write to ask your advice witli relation to a summer home. Sev- 
eral of my family have heen ill with a malarious difliculty aud are yet delicate. The 
resulatiou summer resort won't do at all. I am looking for a quiet but interestms 
l)lace, with pretty natural attractions, boating facilities, and pleasant drives. Above 
all, the place must ])e healthy. If you know of any place combining such advan- 
tages, will you kindly communicate with me? 

A day or two before, the old gentleman had received a note trom 
the son of a friend of his youth, who had been engaged in manufac- 
turing in England for many years, and who desired to engage m 
a similar line of manufacturing in this country. This gentleman 



56 NEW BEDFORD. 



had sought advice with relation to an eligible place to locate and 
had returned to this country to decide upon a situation. 

Immediately on receipt of the above letter, the old gentleman sat 
down and wrote to each of his friends, inviting them to run down to 
New Bedford for a da}'. The invitations were accepted and two days 
later, on the arrival of the New York train, both gentlemen appeared 
and were cordially received by their host. 

At the breakfast table the latter disclosed the reason of his invi- 
tation. "Before the day is over," he said, "I hope to convince you, 
my dear sir, that there is no more delightful place in which to spend 
a summer this side of Paradise than in New Bedford, and you, 
sir, that this city offers unrivalled facilities for manufacturing pur- 
poses. Two unqualified statements, you see, but statements which I 
am confident you will admit at my dinner table. This morning I 
propose to take you for a stroll and this afternoon we will devote to 
driving. If you have finished your coffee, let us take our hats 
and go. 

"I dare say you will often find me inclined to lapse into ancient 
history, gentlemen," said the host, as the party emerged on the street ; 
"I have lived to see this place undergo many wonderful changes and 
I am apt to grow reminiscent as I wander along. When I grow tire- 
some don't hesitate to interrupt me, but I wish to thoroughly inform 
you about my city before you leave it. 

"You may have observed that New Bedford is built on a hill- 
side. As our centennial orator expressed it, it 'lies between green 
pastures on the one hand and the still waters of the river on the other.' 
To give you the facts in a practical form, the city is situated on the 
west side of the Acushnet river, which makes up, in a northerly direc- 
tion, into the land near the western extremity of Buzzards bay, on the 
south shore of Massachusetts. At present we have a population of 
38,000 to 40,000 people, and we are growing rapidly. We rank first 
as a whaling city, as ever^'body knows, and third in the point of cotton 
manufacturing among the cities of the United States, having sur- 
passed Lawrence, Manchester, Lewiston, and other places. We 
have about one hundred and twenty miles of streets, forty or fifty 
miles of which are macadamized or paved. The city is about ten and 
two-thirds miles long from the tip of Clark's point on the south to 
Freetown on the north, and its average width is two miles. The area 
of the city is about twenty and one-quarter square miles. Finally, 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



57 



New Bedford is, I believe, the wealthiest city in the United States in 
proportion to its population. So much for a few cold facts to start 

with. 

"And now, gen- 
tlemen, we are on 
Water street, over- 
flowinjx, to all old cit- 
izens, such as I am, 
with the most inter- 
esting reminiscences. 
This is the corner 




of Union and Watei 
streets, 'Four Corners,' 
as it was called in mv 
boyhood. William A. 
Wall, an artist whose 
genius has illuminated 
some prominent pages 
in local history, painted 
a view of the 'Four Cor- 
ners in 1812,' which is regarded as accurate in detail and truthful in 
the portraits of several leading actors of those times. Among the 



58 



NEW BEDFORD. 



incidental features of this painting is a picture of William Rotch, 
senior, 'Friend Rotch,' as he was called, in one of the old-fashioned 
square-topped chaises of the period. 

"Almost every old building on this street is interesting to me and 
I shall show you houses which were here previous to the Revolution. 
This was one of the first streets of the old town. When I was a boy 
it was the principal business street. But innovations have come. 
'Westward the star of empire takes its way,' and business has taken 
the same direction. Fifty years ago all the dry goods, boot and shoe, 
and tailor shops, the book, hardware, and drug stores were on this 
street and the lower part of Union street. 

"But while these innovations have come to the dealers in mer- 
chandise, there are two classes that have remained. The financiers 
and the lawyers have never deserted the street. Nearly all of our 
banks and insurance offices are located here. Three generations of 
our wealthy men have been daily frequenters of the street. Within 
these precincts are the old law oflices, where notables of the bar in 
bygone years have received their maiden fees. From these offices 
have gone torth five judges to dignify their high stations, two of whom 
have been chief justices, two members of Congress, of whom city and 
state are proud, two attorney-generals, and a governor of the Com- 
monwealth. Their students have read Blackstone in these old rooms 
and, when their seniors have been called to appear before the final 
bar, have taken possession, while the legal world has gone on as 
before. The faded and weather-worn collection of ancient signs over 
dilapidated stairways and beneath chamber windows have, while they 
w^ere permitted to remain, been suggestive of rich memories to the 
elderly citizens who paused to peruse them. Among those who have 
been called to serve in distinguished positions are John Henry Clifford, 
who was governor of the State in 1853 and also attorney-general for 
several years. During his term in the latter office he conducted the 
memorable trial of Prof. John W. Webster for the murder of Dr. 
George Parkman. Subsequently he declined appointment as minis- 
ter to Russia and Turkey. George Marston served as attorney- 
general for several years, and Thomas D. Eliot and William W. Crapo 
served long terms in Congress. The above, with the exception ot 
Mr. Crapo, are now dead." 

"What is that building of brick and brown stone w^iich is so 
prominent and so handsome?" asked one of the strangers, at this 
point. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 6l 

"I'm glad 30U interrupted me, sir, for I should certainly have 
wearied you. That is the new building of the National Bank of 
Commerce, one of the prosperous banks of this city. This mag- 
nificent edifice occupies the site of the old Bedford Commercial bank, 
which, I remember, was a quaint old structure of brick and stone, 
the windows of which were fortified with heavy shutters. A heavy 
block tackle was used for hoisting up a heavy wooden trap door, 
and a still heavier one beneath opened to the steps that led to the 
subterranean vaults where the specie was kept. This iron door 
was fastened by a long tongue-bolt, running lengthwise with the 
door, and drawn by a secret process in another part of the building. 
I can see the old cashier now, in his pepper and salt suit, his knee- 
pants, and knee buckles. Heigh-ho ! 

"At the foot of William street you see the handsome granite 
front building, with eight heav}' pillars, occupied on the lower floor 
by the Merchants and Mechanics national banks. 

"The Board of Trade rooms are on this street," said the old 
gentleman, "and we will look in for a moment. They are not pre- 
tentious, as you may see, but they have been and are the centre of 
many influences which have been of much benefit to the city. The 
Board was organized on the 5th of March, 1884, as the outcome 
of a feeling which had existed for several years that such an organi- 
zation was needed in New Bedford. At first, it did not include the 
representatives of many interests beside that of whaling. Though 
its benefits were best in this branch of our industries, it soon became 
apparent that the Board was not exerting the influence it ought upon 
the newer enterprises of the city. Accordingly, in 1886, a number 
of the younger business men took hold of the organization, and 
it has since been an active factor in promoting the growth and pros- 
perity of New Bedford. Its more than two hundred and fifty mem- 
bers represent every industry and business in the city, and their 
combined efforts and influence have been productive of many valua- 
ble results. Conspicuous among the enterprises of the Board was 
its first industrial fair, held in the autumn of 1887. It was an experi- 
ment, and a doubtful one. But it was a revelation to our own people 
of the extent and variety of our home manufactures. Thousands 
of persons visited it, and went away with a higher opinion of their 
city than ever they had before. It is asserted by men who are 
familiar with the facts that to the influence of this fair is due the 



62 NEW BEDFORD. 

establishment of at least one more cotton manufacturing enterprise.* 
The Board has also interested itself in securing better postal facilities, 
and in many ways has been watchful for the welfare of the city. Its 
rooms are attractive, without being over fine, and afford a pleasant 
resort for the members. 

"Walkino; south to the corner of Water and School streets, we 
see an old-fashioned square house on a high embankment. The 
house was built for William Hathawa}' in 1772 and it is not improb- 
able that old knocker has often resounded through the house in Revo- 
lutionary times as some of Mr. Hathaway's neighbors came to tell 
him of important news of the War for Independence. The house is 
now known as the Gideon Rowland house. 

"And this old house reminds me that Gideon Rowland was a 
member of one of the most celebrated of whaling firms, I. Rowland, 
Jr., & Co. He married a daughter of the head of the firm in 1798, 
at about which time the firm was organized. Thomas Mandell was 
admitted a partner in 1819. Gideon had two daughters, Sylvia Ann 
and Abigail. The former died in 1865, leaving a property of about 
$2,000,000. Among her bequests were $100,000 towards the intro- 
duction of water into the city, a similar sum for educational and 
literary purposes, and another large bequest for the benefit of aged 
w'omen of the city. Abigail married Edward Mott Robinson, and 
their daughter, Retty Rowland Robinson, married Edward Green, of 
New York. She is now reputed to be the wealthiest woman in 
America. Gideon Rowland died in 1847, and within the memory of 
most people now living the firm consisted of Messrs. Mandell and 
Robinson and Miss Rowland. Miss Robinson was the heir to 
$5,000,000 tVom her father and $1,000,000 from her aunt. 

"•The high towers which are seen on many of the old buildings 

*The fair of 1888, in progress while this book was passing through tlie press, 
was even more successful than that of 1887. It was held in the Adelphi rink, a large 
building on the corner of Countj^ and Mill streets, commencing on the 1st of October 
and continuing four weeks. The representation of the industries of the city was very 
complete, some of the more promiiieiit being cotton manufacturing, shoe making, 
glass working, and the manufacture of silver plated ware. Other industries showed 
their finished products. The rink did not afford sufHcient space for the exhibitors 
who desired places, and the managers were forced to build a large annex in Mill 
street, while an adjoining ward room was also utilized. While the fair was in pro- 
gress it was visited by fifty thousand persons, including hundreds from other places. 
It is hoped that the industrial fair will hereafter beheld at regular intervals. 




RESIDENCE OF CHARLES S. KELLEY. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



6S 



in the vicinity mark the shops formerly kept by the outfitters. Men 
were constantly watching in these towers, in the palmy days of whal- 
ing, for incoming whaleships, and immediately one was sighted the 
outfitters would start in their boat to meet the ship. Then they would 
run alongside, swarm over the rail, and solicit customers. As most of 
the whalemen in those days had good sums of money coming to them 
on the settlement of the voyage and as they spent it with all the 
freedom for which Jack is proverbial, there was alwavs a sharp 
rivalr}' among these agents. 

''Going still farther south we reach the Portuguese quarter of the 
town. At the windows are dusky women with red bandannas wound 
fantastically about their heads, and the stores in this section are kept 
by Portuguese. Some of the older of the inhabitants found their way 
here on whaleships but many of them have come here from the 
Western Islands by the packet lines, the barkentine Moses B. Tower 
making tour regular trips yearly between this city and the islands. 
If we were to walk half a mile farther south, we should come to the 
Potomska and Acushnet cotton mills. The only house for religious 
worship on this street is the South Mission Chapel, which has done 
an excellent work among the sailors in the past and is doing equally 
excellent work in a rather different line now." 

''I should like to have a look at the wharves," said one of the 
visitors. \ 

"So you shall," said their guide. "The principal wharves are 
twenty-five in number and they front upon one of the most beautiful 
harbors in the world. The pretty and pertinently named town of 
Fairhaven lies opposite. A draw-bridge, about four thousand feet 
in length, connects the city and town, and the cars of the Union 
Street Railway Company cross it at intervals of twentv minutes. Let 
us walk down Middle street and over the bridge a little wav, that I mav 
let 3^ou have what to me is a most charming view. The first bridge, 
I may say, was constructed in 1798 but was washed away in 1807. It 
was rebuilt, but was again destroyed in the September gale of 1815. 
A new bridge was constructed some four years later, but it was 
ruined in the great September gale of 1869. The present bridge 
was built soon after. Notice these fishing stands at frequent inter- 
vals. The}' are appreciated by the boys of all ages." 

So the men crossed the bridge a distance and, turning, one could 
not help remarking : 



66 NEW BEDFORD. 

"'What a beautiful picture !" 

"I thought you would be struck with it," said the old resident, 
complacently. "At the extreme north is the Grinnell mill. The 
group of six mills of stone and brick next south are the Wamsuttas, 
the most celebrated cotton mills in the world. Below the bridge 
are the immense coal pockets of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & 
Iron Company, and still further south we see the works of the Pair- 
point Manufacturing Company, the Mount Washington Glass Works, 
and the Potomska and Acushnet mills. The large number of elm 
trees add much to the beauty of the city. No city excels New Bed- 
ford in the matter of shade trees." 

"The harbor is as charming as the Bay of Naples !" exclaimed 
the gentleman in search of a summer home. 

''The river takes its rise near the Middleboro ponds," said the 
historian, "flows down by the village of Acushnet and increases in 
breadth until it empties into the bay. There are several pretty islands. 
That you see with the lighthouse is Palmer's Island, picturesque with 
craggy rocks and scrubby cedars. The little island near Fairhaven 
is Crow island. A rope walk formerly connected it with the main 
land on the Fairhaven side. The bridge crosses Pope's and Fish 
islands. The former retains some of its primeval cedars. Upon the 
latter are wharves, oil factories, and workshops. United States reve- 
nue schoolship S. P. Chase lies alongside the dock here during the 
winter months. This little bark is the training school for the cadets, 
who receive appointments as third lieutenants in the revenue service 
on their graduation. 

"Between this island and the New Bedford side is the draw- 
bridge. North of the bridge, on the Fairhaven side, is the rocky bluff 
called the Isle of Marsh, which, however, is only insulated at high 
water. At the north, the spires of the pleasant little village of Acush- 
net can be seen, while Fort Phoenix, the old fortress which surmounts 
a high rock on the Fairhaven side, is one of the most picturesque 
spots on the coast. The harbor is a favorite rendezvous for yachts 
during the summer, and the New York club and other great fleets 
visit us almost annually, when on their cruises. The treatment which 
they receive from the home club, whose handsome club house stands 
on Pope's island, and the citizens as well, has made the city famous 
among the bold Corinthians for its hospitality." 

"What is the depth of the channel of the river?" inquired the 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



69 



business man of the trio, who looked at the picture from a practical 
point of view. 

''Vessels drawing eighteen feet of water can enter the harbor at 
mean low water and it is now proposed to excavate a channel two 
hundred feet wide of greater depth. New Bedford, by the way, is a 
port of entr}', and the amount of revenue collected during the last 
fiscal year was $29,023.28. We have a regular line of fine passen- 
ger boats running to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket and also 
steamer lines to New York and Nonquitt, the latter a new summer 
resort on the west side of Buzzards bay which is rapidly coming into 
prominence. 

"Under some button wood trees on the New Bedford shore, near 
this bridge, the first ship built in the town was launched in 1767 
She was owned by Francis Rotch and her name was the Dartmouth. 
Her first voyage was made to London with a cargo of oil. This 
vessel was subsequently famous as being one of the ships which carried 
into Boston harbor the tea which was thrown overboard. Among 
the earlier ships built was the Rebecca, owned by Joseph Russell & 
Sons, which was launched in the spring of 1785. This ship was 
built by George Claghorn, who afterwards built the frigate Consti- 
tution. The timber of which she was built was cut in the south- 
west part of the town. She measured 175 67-95 tons, which, we are 
told, was at that time considered so large that people came from 
Taunton and other surrounding towns to see ' the big ship.' A 
figurehead of a woman was carved for her, but the Friends society 
remonstrated against so vain and useless an ornament and she went to 
sea without it. A mock funeral was held over it by a few gay young 
men, one or more of them sons of Joseph Russell, and it was buried 
in the sand upon the shore. The command of so large a ship was 
deemed a great responsibility at this time. James Hayden was finally 
selected as captain. She was the first American whaleship that 
doubled Cape Horn, but she made a disastrous end. In the autumn 
of 1798 she sailed from Liverpool for New York and was never heard 
from afterwards. Central wharf, built by Joseph Russell, is the site 
of the original headquarters of the whale-fishery. The story of 
whaling in those days borders on romance, and men of iron nerve 
and energy were required to man these small and poorly-fitted 
vessels. 

"A good many fine vessels were built here in days gone by, and 



70 NEW BEDFORD. 



I think it was Mark Twain who makes one of his characters, an old 
salt, compliment them something in this wise. If you heave down 
one of those 'down east' vessels, he said, you can throw a dog 
through the seams, but take a New Bedford ship and you can 'heave 
her down and hold her there, and she'll never shed a tear.' 

"Now, the scene at the wharves recalls Walt Whitman's lines; 

'Ou sluoo;ish, lonesome, muddy waters, anchored near the shore, 
An old, dismasted, gi'ay, and batter'd ship, disabled, done, and broken, 
After free voyages to all the seas of earth, hauled up at last and hawser'd tight, 
Lies rusting, mouldering." 

"But the old dismantled hulks of whalers lying alongside the 
docks are very dear in the eyes of their owners, having brought 
fortunes from the broad fields of the ocean, after much toil and 
manifold perils. And, as has been said, it has been a creation 
of wealth by the skill of the merchant and the hardy daring of the 
sailor, and not a mere exchange of the wealth. Few parallels can 
be found in this or any country of such successful enterprise. The 
oldest vessels in the world today are the Rousseau and True Love ; 
the former now lies at the wharf at the foot of North street. Her 
history is very interesting. She was built for Stephen Girard, of 
Philadelphia, by Nicholas Vandusen, and was launched from the 
yard of the Vandusens, near Shakamaxon street, on the Delaware, 
in 1801. She is 95 feet long, 28 feet broad, and 18 feet deep, and 
registers 305 tons. Her rig was that of a full rigged ship and at 
the time of her building she was considered a fair sized vessel for 
those times. After doing service for Mr. Girard for several 3^ears, 
her rig was changed and she was regarded as one of the fastest 
barks sailing from Philadelphia. About a year after the death of 
Girard, in the latter part of 1831, she was purchased by the late 
George Howland, of this city, who was extensively engaged in the 
whale-fishery in the earl}' part of this century. When the Rousseau 
arrived at this port she had open bulwarks forward of the mainmast, 
carrying on either side a spare spar, which lay in stout iron crutches 
and which afforded the only protection from the waves forward of 
that mast. Abaft the mainmast the deck was raised a few inches. 
She was immediately fitted for whaling, bulwarks being put in for- 
ward, and when she sailed on her maiden whaling voyage was in 
command of Capt. Walter Hillman, of Martha's Vineyard, and, 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



73 



it may be added, the voyage was a good one. Later a new deck 
was laid and it was made flush. She was a well built ship, con- 
structed of live oak top entire, with white oak bottom, and when 
her bottom was replanked some ten years ago, her floor timbers 
were as firmly on her keel as .when built. After the death of George 
Howland, the vessel was continued in the whaling business by his 
sons, George and Matthew Rowland. She made numerous good 
voyages and about seven years ago she was sold to her present 
owners, Aikin & Swift. She arrived in port from her last voyage 
April 8, 1886, with thirteen hundred and sixty barrels of sperm and 
one hundred and eighty barrels of whale oil. Philadelphians are 
discussing the feasibility of purchasing the old vessel and fitting her 
as a schoolship for wayward youth as a memorial to the great mer- 
chant, banker, and philanthropist. 

"But our fleet is leaving us. One by one tiiev weigh anchor 
and sail out on the great deep, doubling Cape Horn and making San 
Francisco their home port. Through the Golden Gate they pass on 
hazardous voyages to the Arctic, enticed by the alluring chances 
of great earnings in short periods. Let us hope 

'That bright success may on their valor wait, 
And rich reward attend ujion tlieir to!].* 

"Union street, through which I will take you as we walk home 
for lunch, was originally a cart path, leading from the shore to the 
house of Joseph Russell, the founder of the city, which stood near 
the present residence of the late Mrs. Charles W. Morgan, on 
County street. The Russell house, now about one hundred and fi)rty 
years old, is still in good preservation. It has been moved from its 
original site and is a tenement house on Emerson street, near Kemp- 
ton. The Mansion House is the old residence of William Rotch, 
much enlarged, however. The old yellow house at the northeast 
corner of Union and Bethel streets was the old residence of Isaac 
Howland, Jr. I can remember when the Eagle Hotel occupied the 
site of the laroe brick buildino- known as Ricketson Block, on the 
southwest corner of Union and Fourth streets, and dwelling houses 
occupied the lots on which are situated the Eddy and Masonic build- 
ings, — both fine, large brick structures having stores on the first 
floor. The Grand Opera House, on this street, was remodelled from 
the old Grace church. The interior of the Opera House is planned 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



/^ 



and decorated after the style of the Boston Museum, and is one of 
the largest and handsomest theatres in New England. It seats over 
twelve hundred persons. 

"Purchase street is now the main business thoroughfare and 
here most of the dry goods houses are located. Sixty years ago 
there was not a single dry goods store on Purchase street between 
Union and Middle streets. On the east side of the street were dwell- 
ings, and north of these was a garden extending to William street. 
A church occupied the land on which Liberty Hall is situated. In 
1845 William Bradford, who has since placed his name among the 
noted artists of the world, conducted a dry goods store at No. 16. 
The Parker House, the leading hotel of the city, is situated on the 
east side of this street, between Elm and Middle streets. It is of 
wood and was at one ti-me the residence of John Avery Parker. 
It was retitted and enlarged for a hotel in 1841, and has since ranked 
as a first class hostelry. The other leading hotels of the city, by the 
way, the Mansion and Bancroft, are both excellent houses. The 
buildings on this street are not pretentious, for the most part, but 
there are several large and handsome blocks, among them the 
Cummings, Liberty Hall, and Wing buildings." 

Lunch over, the gentlemen entered the carriage for a drive about 
town. The visitors were strongly impressed with the cleanliness ot 
the streets, with the superb elm shade trees, the sidewalks of stone, 
and the tastefulness and richness of many of the public buildings. 
Among those which were particularly admired were the Unitarian 
church on Union street, built of native granite, which is, one of the 
finest specimens of architecture in the city. It was built during the 
years 1836-38, and the original cost, including land, was $40,000. 
The North Congregational church on Purchase street was built at 
about the same time. It is of native granite also, with a frontage ot 
sixty-eight feet and a depth of ninety feet. It is of the Gothic order of 
architecture, with square tower and battlements. The City hall, on 
the square included within Pleasant, Sixth, William, and Market 
streets, is built of native granite and is a handsome and substantial 
building. It was built in the year 1838-39, at a cost of $60,000, 
inclusive of land. Seth H. Ingalls, an old resident, who was the 
builder of the Unitarian church and custom house, also erected this 
building. It is surrounded by a handsome park. A fountain plays 
in front of the hall, and under the old elms seats have been placed. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



77 



The basement of the hall was used for many years as a market. 
Now a number of the city offices are located here. On the second 
floor is a beautiful hall in which public meetings are held. Over the 
stage is a fine large copy by William A. Wall of Stuart's portrait of 
Washington. In the third story are the meeting rooms of the board 
of aldermen, common council, and school committee. 

The custom house building, at the corner of William and Second 
streets, is a most sightly public edifice of granite. It is after the 
Doric style of architecture and was built at a cost of $31,740, inclu- 
sive of land. On the first floor is the post office, and the offices of the 
customs department occupy the second. The receipts of this post 
office are larger than in most cities of the size of New Bedford. 
The government has purchased land on William street, from Second 
street through to Acushnet avenue, and Congress has made an 
appropriation for a new public building for the customs and post 
otfice, work upon which will soon be commenced. Opposite the lot 
designed for this new building is the edifice of the New Bedford Safe 
Deposit and Trust Companv, whicii has one of the handsomest bank- 
ing rooms in the citv- 

The city library building, on William street, opposite City Hall, 
is a beautiful edifice of brick with granite underpinning and steps 
and freestone ornaments. It was the first free public library estab- 
lished under municipal sanction. The edifice was erected in 1856-57 
and its cost was about $40,000. It outgrew^ its original quarters and 
an addition on the north nearly as large as the main building has 
only lately been constructed. 

"But a few years after the incorporation of the city," said the 
old resident, resuming his reminiscences, "the want of books and 
the inability of most of the inhabitants to procure them, led to a com- 
bination of effort for that purpose and several such combinations were 
formed. Amontr the earliest to oro-anize such a scheme were the 
proprietors of Dobson's Encyclopedia, which, for the. unlearned and 
isolated people of these times, formed quite a library in itself. The 
well worn volumes, which are now in the Free Public Library, 
bear testimony to the thoroughness with which its pages were read 
and consulted. 

"But the desire for books outgrew the set of encyclopedias, and 
the Library Society and Social Library followed. Then the three 
societies were united under the name of the New Bedtord Social 



78 



NEW BEDFORD. 



Library. For nearly a half century this collection of books was the 
principal source whence was supplied the desire of the people for 
knowledge and intellectual recreation, and it was a feature in mould- 
ing the characters of the young men and women of that day. 

"May 24, 185 1, an act was passed by the General Court of 
Massachusetts, authorizing cities and towns to establish and main- 
tain public libraries. Forty-five days after the passage of the 
enabling act, Warren Ladd, who was at that time a member of the 
common council, introduced an order to consider the expediency 
of adopting the measure. The order passed the popular brancli 




\*>C<X *'*' " 



FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

unanimously, but the aldermen non-concurred. Early in the follow- 
ing year a large petition, headed by James B. Congdon, was presented 
to the council, requesting the adoption of the act. The committee 
on public instruction, to which the matter was referred, reported 
recommending an appropriation of $1500 tor the establishment of the 
library. In its report the committee stated that it had been assured 
that "provided the authorities should, by the passage of the order 
making the appropriation asked for, establish the principle that the 
maintenance of a free citv library for the continuous education of the 
people will be the settled policy of the city," the five thousand vol- 
umes of the New Bedford Social Library would be transferred to 
the city. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 8l 

"But meanwhile, before the presentation of the report, the appro- 
priation bill for the year had passed, containing an appropriation of 
$1500 for the library. This appropriation bill was adopted July 20, 
1852, and the date of its adoption is the date of the establishment of 
the New Bedford Free Public Library. This was the only public 
library established under the law of 185 1, excepting that in Boston. 
The delivery of books commenced on Thursday, March 3, 1853. 
The number of volumes at the opening was between five thousand 
and six thousand, and the number has now increased to over fifty 
thousand volumes, selected mainly with a view to the needs and 
desires of the reading public of New Bedford, but comprising not a 
few books of rarity and great value. The librarian has given especial 
attention to the department of local history, including not merely that 
of this city, but embracing that of the surrounding towns. The files 
of local newspapers are very complete, while all books and pamphlets 
having even the slightest bearing on our local history are carefully 
preserved and classified. The reading room is an interesting place. 
Here, on several long tables surrounded by many easy chairs, are all 
the leading periodicals of the day, American and foreign, with some, 
of which, I venture to say, you have never heard. On neat racks 
along the side of the room are files of such newspapers as are most 
likely to interest the people of this city, and in a corner is a large 
book case, full of the latest and most valuable books of reference. 
They range from the Encyclopgedia Britannica, through the field of 
dictionaries, gazetteers, and directories, to the United States Dispen- 
satory and the Tribune Almanac. All these books, newspapers, and 
magazines are accessible to the public, without the intervention of 
the librarian or any assistant, and it speaks well for the appreciation 
in which the library is held that the privilege is rarel}' abused. 
During the thirty-six years that the library has been open, two 
periodicals have been mutilated and a few pencil-marked. None 
have been lost. 

"Robert C. Ingraham was the first librarian and has officiated 
in that capacity to the present time, a period of thirty-six years. 
Much of the success of the library is due to his zeal and intelligence. 
The library has grown under his care to be one of the best free pub- 
lic libraries in the country. He knows it thoroughly and his vast store 
of information concerning its contents is freely placed at the disposal 
of the seeker for knowledge or recreation among its volumes. Four 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



assistants are required to do the work of the library. In the year 
1887, the latest for which statistics are available, forty-two thousand 
six hundred fifty-seven volumes were taken out ; this was a decrease 
from the number of deliveries of the preceding year, and it is 
accounted for by the facts that for some months the library was closed 
for repairs and alterations and that the delivery of works of fiction 
was suspended for the purpose of preparing and printing a new cat- 
alogue. 

"A number of trust funds have been established for the benefit 
of the library. The first was that of George Rowland, Jr., its amount, 
$1600, being the amount of his salary as mayor for two years. The 
second constitutes the Charles W. Morgan fund and its amount is 
$1000. Then there is the Oliver Crocker fund of $1000, the James 
B. Congdon fund of $500, and the George O. Crocker fund of 
$10,000. 

"The chief dependence of the trustees, however, for additions 
to the library, is the bequest of Sylvia i\nn Rowland, $50,000 of 
which was set apart for the library, the annual income from which is 
about $3000. During the delay which attended the ligitation upon 
the will of the deceased, the funds of the estate largely increased, 
and in addition to the bequest which constitutes the fund, about 
$10,000 was paid into the treasury of the city as interest or income, 
and placed to the credit of the library. The appropriation by the 
city barely suffices for salaries and other expenses." 

Within this elegant building, on a large marble tablet, we read 
this noble testimony : 

" This tablet comnieinonites the enlightened liberality of Sylvia Ann Howlaiid. 
who bestowed upon the city of New Bedford the sum of two hundred thousand dol- 
lars; one hundred thousand to aid in suiiplying- the city with pure water: and one 
hundred thousand as a fund for the promotion of liberal education by the enlarge- 
nient of the Free Public Library, and by extending to the children and youth of the 
city the means of a wider and more generous culture.'" 

She died in 1865. 

In one of the ante-rooms are a number of photographs of the 
handsome residences of the city and also several portraits, among 
them a rude unfinished picture of William Rotch, to whom a large 
share of New Bedford's business prosperity is due, by an artist named 
Ruckley. In the main library room hang portraits of George How- 
land, Jr., by Wilson, and of James B. Congdon by Eaton. There 




,«, 






s 




NORTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



85 



are also engravintrs from some of the celebrated paintings of the 
Yosemite, by Albert Bierstadt, who was once a photographer in 
New Bedford. 

The library occupies the second floor of the building. On the 
first floor are the offices of the mayor, city clerk, city treasurer, citv 
auditor, superintendent of streets, and board of assessors. 

The passenger station of the Old Colony railroad, situated east 
of Acushnet avenue, between Willis and Pearl streets, is one of the 
attractive buildings of the city. Its architecture is Romanesque. 
The building is 159.3 by 37.8 feet in area, with walls of red face 
brick and trimmings of brown kibbe, rock-faced with round crandled 
corners, and the roofs are covered with copper-green slate. The 
foundation is built on piles and large square blocks of granite laid in 
cement mortar. The river is on the east and there is a pretty view 
of Oxford village opposite. On the west is a large and handsome 
lawn, bordered with trees and dotted with flowerbeds. The interior 
is finished with Philadelphia face brick dadoes, 2-6 ^eet in height with 
moulded cap. The walls are sheathed with moulded sheathing of 
brown ash and above the vertical sheathing is a plain frieze with a 
cornice of the same wood. The cases, desks, and the waiting room 
seats are of the same wood, the latter being very heavy and low, with 
carvings on the arms. The chandeliers, fire dogs, and brackets 
supporting the passengers' writing desks are of wrought iron, unique 
in design. There are open fire places, witli tiled hearths, raised 
stone curbing, and large carved stone lintels. 

The Grace and St. James churches (Episcopal), on County 
street, are each of brick and stone and are two of the finest exam- 
ples of intelligent architecture in the city. The former was com- 
pleted in 1881, has a seating capacity for six hundred people, and 
cost $47,000. In the tower is a chime of bells, ten in number, 
weighing over eleven thousand pounds, the gift of Stephen G. Dris- 
col. These were rung for the first time on Christmas eve, 1882. 
St. Lawrence church, on County street, is a stateh^ granite edifice, 
built in 1870. The tower has recently been carried to a height 
of one hundred feet, and, beino; situated on the highest ground in the 
city, is a prominent feature. Among other notable church edifices 
are the North Christian church on Purchase street, built in 1833 ; 
the Trinitarian church on Fourth street, built in 1832 ; the William 
street Baptist church, completed in 1829 and since enlarged and 



86 ' NEW BEDFORD. 

partially rebuilt; the Pleasant street Methodist church, dedicated in 
1849; ^^^^ church of the Sacred Heart (French Catholic) ; and the 
church of St. John the Baptist (Portuguese Catholic). These latter 
are all of wood. The County street Methodist church, a brick 
edifice built in 1859, is one of the handsomest church buildings in the 
city. The Seamen's Bethel, on Bethel street, designed to promote 
the interests of seamen, was built about 1831. With it is connected 
a home for mariners. Both were erected by the Port Society. The 
Friends meeting house, on Spring street, is an unostentatious square 
structure of brick and the fitting of the interior is severely plain. 
The P'riends, by the way, built the first meeting house for religious 
worship erected in this city. 

The Trinitarian Church Home, opposite the Trinitarian church 
on Fourth street, attracts the attention of all visitors to the city who 
are interested in religious effort, for 'its peculiar adaptation to the 
social phases of church work. It serves the purposes of a chapel, 
and its audience room on the second floor is a model Sunday school 
room. On the lower floor and in the basement are the parlor, supper 
room, and kitchen. Externally, the building, constructed of brick 
and wood, is of attractive appearance, and realizes the idea of a 
" church home." 

"A long line of famous ministers has filled our pulpits," said 
the historian, "and among them I recall Dr. Samuel West, who 
preached at the Head of the River from 1761 to 1803, George L. 
Prentiss, Moses How, Orville Dewey, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Dr. 
Ephraim Peabody, J. H. Morisson, John Weiss, Wheelock Craig, 
William S. Studfey, and Mark Trafton." 

The visitors were particularly struck with the handsome school 
buildings, among them the High school, a model edifice of imposing 
proportions, occupying an entire block of land, with an area of 
about three-fourths of an acre, bounded by Summer. Mill, Chestnut, 
and North streets, a high and commanding situation, and from a 
distance one of the most prominent objects in the city. The build- 
ing is of brick, with Amherst (Ohio) freestone trimmings and under- 
pinning, and basement window sills of Rockport granite. It is three 
stories high, with a flat topped hiproof. The fronton Summer street 
is ninety-five feet and the width ninety-two feet. The Summer street 
entrance is under a projecting portico twenty-one by fifteen feet and 
over the centre front are a tower and spire. Strangers to the city 




RESIDENCE OF EBEN C. MILLIKEN. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



89 



should know that the view from the tower is extensive and fine. 
Thompson, Fitth, Paiker, 
Acushnet avenue, Maxfield, 
and Cedar Gi ove sii eet school 
houses <ue all of brick and 
would ornament an\ city. 
The new Hainngton school 
house, named in honoi of 
Heni} F. Hairington, for 
man} }eais the beloved sup- 
erintendent of schools, IS 



The 



o 




considered a good 
specimen of the 
best class of school 
aichitecture. 

There are 
th 1 ee parochial 
schools, two of 
\\ h 1 c h are con- 
nected with the 
Irish Catholic 
paiishes and one 
with the French 
Catholic parish 

of the city. The buildings are of brick, three stories in height, 

and are well proportioned edifices. 



90 NEW BEDFORD. 

Friends' academy, located between Morgan and Elm streets, west 
of County, is a sightly building of brick with a tower. This build- 
ing was dedicated in 1857, but was subsequently enlarged and remod- 
elled. It may be of interest and not generally known, that the old 
school house erected by William Rotch in 1810 was sawn in two and 
forms two dwelling houses, which are located on Elm street, west of 
the present school house. The old portico is an outbuilding on the 
premises of one. 

There are unusually good facilities, the visitors were told, for 
police and fire protection. The police department numbers sixty-three 
officers and employes, as follows : One chief, two captains, six 
lieutenants, torty-seven patrolmen, five housekeepers, one ianitor, 
and one matron. There are six stations and a lockup for women. 
The total number of arrests in 1887 was ten hundred ninety-three, 
and the annual cost in round numbers to maintain this branch of the 
city's business is $50,000. 

The fire department has five fine brick engine houses and a 
ladder and hose house, six steam fire engines — five in commission 
and one in reserve — ready for immediate use, one aerial hook and 
ladder truck, two ordinary hook and ladder trucks, — one in reserve, — 
four two-wheeled and five four-wheeled hose carriages, one still 
alarm wagon, three sleigh-reels, six exercise and coal wagons, one 
telegraph wagon, and three sleigh reels. There are over twenty horses 
belonging to the department. The force consists of one chief, four 
assistant engineers and clerks, thirteen men permanently employed, 
and one hundred thirty-two call members, making a total of one hun- 
dred fifty-one men. Hydrants are established at every point where 
they are needed, and to which the water mains extend. In the fire 
alarm system there are fifty-four signal boxes and twenty-five miles 
of wire ; eight bell strikers, eight fit"teen-inch engine house gongs, 
seven seven-inch engineers' gongs, and three small tappers, operated 
by a battery of one hundred forty-seven cups. The total cost of the 
department yearly is about $30,000, and the value of the property in 
the department will approximate $125,000. Something of the effec- 
tiveness of the department can be seen by the following figures of 
losses for the past ten years: 1877, $26,063.66; 1878, $28,154.46; 
1879, $9,163.16; 1880, $7,609.13; 1881, $26,624.96; 1882, 
$23,169.64; 1883, $17,398.14; 1884, $134,729.82; 1885, $6,982.41; 
1886, $26,786.03; 1887, $45,141.50. Connected with this depart- 



o 




SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



93 



ment is a Protecting Society of seventy-five members, which has 
done excellent work in past years. 

The house of correction for the county, and the jail, are located 
here. A new prison building has just been completed, fronting on Ash 
street and extending from Union to Court streets, with a wing running 
easterly. The cost of the new prison building was over $80,000. 
It is provided with two hundred eighty-seven cells and is considered 
the finest prison building in the state. Advantage has been taken of 
all the modern improvements in prisons, the cells are large and par- 
ticular care has been given to ventilation. The long term prisoners 
here are employed in making shoes and a new factory for this pur- 
pose has recently been built. 

The city common was pointed out. This beautiful spot is in the 
north part of the city and is bounded by County, Purchase, Pope, and 
Pearl streets. The Soldiers and Sailors monument, a tasteful and 
appropriate structure, erected by the city at a cost of about $13,000, 
as a memorial to those who lost their lives during the War of the 
Rebellion, occupies a prominent situation here. It was designed and 
contracted for by George F. Meacham of Boston, and the inscriptions 
upon its base are as follows : 

North side. 

"Navy." 

East side. 

"Erected by the City of New Bedford, as a tribute of gratitude 
to her sons who fell defending their Country in its struggle with 
Slavery and Treason." 

South side. 

"Army." 

West side. 

"Dedicated July 4, 1866." 

Two of the cemeteries, the Rural in the southwest part of the 
city, and the Oak Grove in the west part, are retired and lovely spots. 
Nature has been lavish of her gifts, and good taste and a liberal 
expenditure of money has added to the beauty of these final resting 
places for the departed. 

As they rode along, the old resident called the attention of his 



94 NEW BEDFORD. 

guests to the elaborate system of drainage which the ebbing and 
flowing tides make perfect and efficient : and also to the excellent city 
water works, constructed in 1867-69, and which cost about $1,200,000. 

"Thirty years ago it was an exceedingly difficult matter to obtain 
a water suitable for supplying steam engine and other mechanical 
purposes within our city limits," said the old resident guide. "Few 
cities were then so poorly provided for in this respect. At that time 
it was a busy community. It was reaping the profitable harvest of 
the whale-fishery and the general appearance was one of prosperity. 
No one will probably ever know how much its interests actually suf- 
fered for lack of the numerous advantages accruing from an ample 
supply of pure water, but that they did suffer there can be no doubt. 

"Public water works were not the popular institutions in those 
days that they have since become, and although the project of intro- 
ducing water was often agitated, it was at first frowned upon by a 
large majority of the citizens. But as the question was more fre- 
quently discussed, and the many blessings which an abundant supply 
would bring to our city were pointed out, the demand for trustworthy 
information on this subject became more general. 

"The first definite movement took form on March 8th, i860, 
when an order passed both branches of the city government directing 
that a joint special committee be appointed to fully consider the ques- 
tion and to report some plan, together with the probable cost. The 
period from i860 to 1865 was occupied in the examination of different 
schemes presented, by which this important problem could be solved. 
These investigations were conducted by joint committees of the city 
government appointed each year. Capt. Charles H, Bigelow, the 
engineer in charge of the construction of the fort at Clark's point, 
together with George A. Briggs, then city surveyor, and William F. 
Durfee, civil engineer, were the first to make surveys and estimates of 
the various sources of supply. 

"The advantages of the head waters of the Acushnet river as a 
source of supply were soon apparent, and this conclusion was endorsed 
by William J. McAlpine, the eminent hydraulic engineer, whose 
counsel was sought in 1865. During this period Prof. George I. 
Chase, of Brown University, had made several chemical examinations 
of samples taken from the Acushnet and declared it to be a water of 
remarkable purity. 

"The usual form of enactment was passed by the legislature April 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 97 



18, 1863, and was accepted by the city on April 14, 1864. Three 
constructing commissioners, Messrs. WilHain W. Crapo, Warren 
Ladd, and David B. Kempton, were appointed November 30, 
1865. These gentlemen, together with George A. Briggs as chief 
engineer, and William J. McAlpine as consulting engineer, began 
at once with the construction of the present system of water works. 
This work was vigorously continued and water was first introduced 
into the city in December, 1869." 

The source of supply is from a storing reservoir artificially 
formed by constructing a dam across the valley of the Acushnet, 
about seven miles north of the centre of the city. The area of 
water shed above the dam is thirty-three thousand acres ; the area of 
water surface of reservoir is three hundred acres ; capacity of reser- 
voir wheq full is four hundred million gallons. The elevation ot the 
full reservoir is forty feet plus the tide in New Bedford harbor. In 
1886 a canal was dug permitting an auxiliary supply to the storing 
reservoir from Little Quittacas pond. This pond has a surface area 
of three hundred twenty acres and is one of the great chain known 
as the Middleboro ponds, and whose drainage area is estimated at 
thirty-five thousand acres. The elevation of the water surface of 
this pond is ten feet above that of the storing reservoir. Little Q^iit- 
tacas pond is located northerly from the storing reservoir, about two 
and a half miles distant from its northern borders, and twelve miles 
distant from New Bedford. From the dam at the storing reservoir the 
water flows by gravity through a single ring brick conduit. This 
conduit is in form of an tgg shape oval. Its interior diameters are 
three and four feet, the lower end being a circle of three feet diameter. 
Its length is five and five-eighths miles. There are three overflows 
upon this line of conduit for the discharge of surplus water. The 
grade is six inches to the mile. The outlet to the conduit is into the 
receiving reservoir. When filled, the water has a depth of twelve feet, 
and its elevation is thirty feet plus tide. The capacity of the reservoir 
is three million gallons. The pumping station is situated about two 
hundred seventy feet west of the receiving reservoir and the water is 
conducted to the pump wells through cast iron pipes forty-two inches 
in diameter. As an alternative, a supply may be obtained at the pump 
wells directly from the conduit through a pipe thirty-six inches in 
diameter laid around outside the banks of the receiving reservoir. 
From the pump wells the water is raised a height of one hundred 



98 



NEW BEDFORD. 



twenty-four feet to the distributing reservoir. The distributing reser- 
voir has a capacity of fifteen nnillion gallons when filled. The water 
has a depth of seventeen feet and its surface is at an elevation ot one 
luindred fifty-four feet plus the tide. In 1873 a stand pipe was erected 
near the distributing reservoir for use at times when it was necessary 
to empty the reservoir for repairs. Its internal diameter is five feet 
and the elevation of its top is one hundred ninety-seven feet plus tide. 
In 1884-85, the pumping facilities were remodelled and enlarged 
from plans prepared by the present superintendent, Mr. R. C. P. 
Coggeshall. This work involved the building of two new pump 




PUMPING STATION, NEW BEDFORD WATER WORKS. 



wells with the necessary connections, an addition to the engine house, 
and a new force main. There are three pumping engines which 
have a total capacity of pumping fifteen million gallons in twenty- 
four hours. Engine No. i was designed by William J. McAlpine, 
C. E., and was built by the Quintard Iron Works of New York. 
It is a vertical beam condensing engine with two vertical, bucket and 
plunger pumps. Its general dimensions are : Steam cylinder, 38 
inches diameter ; stroke, 8 feet; beam, 26 feet long; fly wheel, 16 
feet in diameter. The pumps are placed one each side of the beam 
center. Diameter of the pumps, 28 inches ; stroke, 4 feet 8 inches. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. lOI 



The beam is supported by a cast iron hollow column which serves as 
an air chamber. The pumps of this engine were originally single 
acting, but they were remodelled as above in 1886. This engine 
now has a capacity of six million gallons in twenty-four hours. 
Engine No. 2 was erected in 1874 and was built by Henry R. 
Worthington of New York. It is of the well known compound 
duplex pattern made by that firm. The principal dimensions are as 
follows : High pressure steam cylinders, twenty-one inches diameter. 
Low pressure steam cylinders, thirty-six and seven eighths inches 
diameter. Length of stroke, thirty-six inches. Water plungers, sev- 
enteen and one-half inches diameter. This engine has a capacity 
of tour million gallons in twenty-four hours. Engine No. 3 was 
erected in 1886. This engine is essentially the same as the well 
known type so extensively used throughout the country, with the 
addition of a device known as the high duty attachment, which allows 
the steam to be used expansively, and by which greatly increased 
economy in the running of the engine has been secured. The prin- 
cipal dimensions are as follows : Diameter high pressure cylinder, 
eighteen inches. Diameter low pressure cylinder, thirty-six inches. 
Diameter of plungers, twenty-four inches. Stroke, twenty-six inches. 
This engine has a capacity of five million gallons in twenty-four hours. 
For the suppl}^ of the engines there are six boilers, four being hori- 
zontal tubular boilers eighteen feet long, six feet diameter, and two 
being upright, thirteen feet seven inches long and sixty-four inches 
diameter. There are two force mains connecting the pumps with 
the distributing reservoir, one thirty inch diameter, one sixteen inch 
diameter. The engines may pump through either at discretion. 
The force mains are also connected with the distributing system so 
that the supply may be maintained by direct pumping. The distribut- 
ing mains are partly of cast iron and partly wrought iron. There 
are fifty-four and one-third miles of pipes in use, ranging from thirty 
inches to fouu inches in diameter. Of this length about nine and one 
half miles are of wrought iron cement lined pipe, the rest being of 
cast iron. There are also several short lengths of smaller distribu- 
tion pipes ranging in size trom one to four inches, of which the total 
length is five thousand eight hundred twelve feet. 

December i, 1887, there were in use five hundred forty-seven 
stop gates, four hundred ten fire hydrants, five thousand four hun- 
dred ninety-five taps for domestic supply, forty-two meters for 



I02 



NEW BEDFORD. 



manufacturing purposes, sixty meters for domestic purposes, and 
twenty-eight motors. The average daily consumption during the 
year 1887 was three million forty-seven thousand four hundred four 
gallons. The estimated total population was thirt^'-six thousand, and 
of this number thirty thousand eighty were supplied. This is at the 
rate of one hundred one gallons per day to each consumer, or tive 
hundred fifty-five gallons per day to each tap. 

The cost of the works to December i, 1887, was $1,298,460.76. 
The bonded indebtedness is $690,000. The works are controlled b}^ 
a board of five members who report to the city council. The super- 
intendents have been the following persons: To 1871, George A. 




SWAIN FREE SCHOOL. 

Briggs; 1871-72, Israel C. Cornish; 1872-77, George B. Wheeler; 
1877-81, William B. Sherman; 1881 to date, Robert C. P. Cogges- 
hall. Hon. James B. Congdon acted as clerk of the board from the 
the commencement until 1879, since which time the position has been 
filled by the superintendent. The water rates here are lower than 
in any other city in the United States, ranging from $2.50 a year 
for a single faucet in a dwelling house to two and one-half cents a 
thousand gallons for manufacturing purposes. 

"Our public schools," resumed the old resident, pkmging into a 
new subject, "were the pioneers in the practical exemplification of the 
methods of instruction which now prevail." In 1821, notwithstanding 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



105 



the fact that the weahh of the town was intensely hostile to the move- 
ment, it was voted to appropriate $1200 for the establishment of a 
regular system of public schools, in conformity to the laws of the 
commonwealth. Prior to that time there was a free school supported 
at public expense. It was intended for the poor alone, and, as James 
B. Congdon once remarked, "was in every sense a -poor school." A 
movement for the establishment of a high school a few years after- 
wards, excited acrimonious hostility, but finally the opposition gave 
way and from that time forward, the schools grew more and more 
deeply in popular favor. In 1861 Abner J. Phipps was elected super- 
intendent, and he was succeeded in February, 1865, by Rev. Henry 
F. Harrington, of Cambridge, who at once commenced a series of 
reforms and improvements which have secured for our schools a dis- 
tinguished position. The reorganization of the primary schools, and 
the substitution of intelligent and attractive methods of learning in 
place^of the old "rote" methods, were accomplished in 1865. Two 
years later the New Bedford Manual of Instruction was adopted, 
which was so well approved that it was copied entire into the volume 
of the reports of the State Board of Education, the following year, 
and thousands of copies were distributed by private subscription in the 
normal schools and among the school committees and teachers of the 
state. 

In 1869 a beginning was made toward the introduction of sup- 
plementary reading in the shape of three hundred subscriptions to 
the Nursery. This was the first practical recognition in New England 
of the great principle, now so widely and heartily accepted, that it is 
onl\' reading much which can confer the ability to read well. Its 
application has been extended to a wide range of the best literature 
supplied to the schools of every grade. 

The school system has received an incalculable advantage 
through the "Sylvia Ann Howland fund," which is the fruit of a gift 
of $100,000 to the city by the lady whose name it bears, the 
income to be equally divided between the Free Public Library and the 
public schools. The city pays six per cent, for the use of the fund 
and there is a provision that no portion of the avails shall be devoted 
to any purpose for which the city is legally bound to provide by taxa- 
tion. So the schools have an annual income of $3000, whereby the 
school committee can supply the best possible aids to stud}-*, through 
books of reference, books for supplementary reading, including the 




HIGH SCHOOL HOUSE. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



109 



old masterpieces of English literature and the cream of contemporary 
authors, apparatus and cabinets for scientific illustration, museums 
for object teaching, maps, globes, pictures, and musical instruments. 
In the last year, for instance, $985 were spent for books, $1252 for 
music and musical instruments, including a grand piano for the High 
school and two organs, and $137 for chemical and philosophical 
apparatus. A large amount was also expended for purposes that 
cannot be classified. 

There are twenty-six school buildings, nine of which are of brick. 
There is one high school, four grammar, fourteen primary, five coun- 
try, two mill, and four evening schools. The total number of teachers 
employed is one hundred fifty-two, and five thousand fifty pupils were 
enrolled last year. The cost of maintaining each pupil in the High 
school in 1887 was $39.72 ; in the grammar schools, $22.90; in the 
primary schools, $19.65; and in the mill schools, $31.24. The 
total cost of maintaining the public schools was $103,777.27, of which 
amount $75,473.10 went for teachers' salaries. 

The Swain Free School offers superior opportunities for the 
acquirement of advanced education. It was established through the 
liberality of William W. Swain, who died September 21, 1858. A 
bequest in his will enabled the trustees, after securing the act of incor- 
poration March 18, 1881, to open the school October 25, 1882. A 
fine old house and estate on County street was included in the bequest, 
which amounts in its entirety to about $150,000. The school is held 
in the old Swain mansion, which has been fitted for the purpose. 
The building sets back from the street and the surroundings are very 
picturesque, the old house standing in the midst of a magnificent 
growth of trees. The studies taught are Greek, Latin, mathematics, 
history, geography, English, art, physics, chemistry, German, French, 
and Italian. Applicants for admission must be residents of New 
Bedford or of the adjacent towns, and must have pursued a course of 
study equivalent to that of our best high schools or academies. There 
are at present four teachers in the school and certificates have been 
awarded to about fifty pupils. The board of trustees comprises 
Lincoln F. Brigham, William W. Crapo, Edward D. Mandell, Andrew 
G. Pierce, George H. Dunbar, C. B. H. Fessenden, Charles W. 
Clifford, William J. Potter, Charles H. Peirce, Edmund Grinnell, and 
Francis T. Akin. Andrew Ingraham is the master of the school. 
Following are extracts from Mr. Swain's will : 



no NE^V BEDFORD. 



"My hope is that the provision herein made will be sufficient for establishiuj;- and 
supporting a school of a high character, where the pupils may receive a thorough 
education upon the most liberal and enlightened principles, free of any charge of 
tuition. 

"My intention is that tlie school shall never be, in any form or degree, exclusive, 
either religiously or politically, but open for the admission of all whose good charac- 
ter and condition entitle them to share in its benefits, and of this the trustees are to 
be the sole judges. 

"My wish is that this class of scholars (;'. r'., "those whose parents cannot atibrd 
to send them to our most expensive schools"') have precedence in admission, leaving 
the decision on each individual application to the trustees, who are alone to decide 
thereon." 

Friends' academy is a day school, located between Morgan and 
Eltn streets, west of Count}. In 1810 a schoolhouse was erected at 
the corner of County and Elm streets in the village. William Rotch, 
William Rotch, Jr., Samuel Rodman, Samuel Elam, Thomas Arnold, 
James Arnold, Obadiah M. Brown, Samuel Rodman, Jr., Benjamin 
Rodman, Charles W. Morgan, George Rowland, Thomas Rotch, 
Joseph Rotch, Joseph Ricketson, John Rowland, Jr., Nathaniel 
Hathaway, William Swain, and Thomas S. Swain, agreed to con- 
tribute sums aggregating $14,161 "for the purpose of establishing 
and endowing an institution for the instruction of Friends' children 
and such others as it may appear hereafter, as may usefully and 
safely be admitted therein, in the knowledge of the languages, of 
mathematics, and philosophy, and such other branches of useful litera- 
ture as hereafter, upon experiment, maybe found within the compass 
and means of the insdtution usefully to teach." February 12, 181 2, 
a charter was granted, signed by Governor Elbridge Gerry. The 
present building was dedicated May 7, 1857, and three years after it 
was enlarged and remodelled. It has always been an excellent 
school. It present master is Thomas H. Eckfeldt. 

The attention of the visitors was called to the newspapers of 
the city. 

The New Bedford Mercury, a weekly newspaper, was established 
in 1807 by Benjamin Lindsey, who had previously worked as com- 
positor and foreman in the printing office of the Palladium, in Boston. 
It was a small sheet of sixteen columns, printed "on good paper and 
in fair type," and the subscription price was two dollars annually. In 
his address to the public the editor stated that it was his wish and 
intention to publish a useful and, as far as resources would permit, 
an entertaining journal. In politics it proposed to adopt the truly 




ST. LAWRENCE CATHOLIC CHURCH. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



113 



republican principles of Washington's farewell address, convinced 
that all Americans were alike interested in their support. The first 
issue contains "very late foreign news" and a proclamation bv Thomas 
Jefferson. Among the advertisements in the second number was one 
announcing that the "stage will start from Crocker's tavern, in New 
Bedford, at sunrise on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 
arrive at Boston at three o'clock p. m." The founder of the Mercury 
conducted it alone until 1826, when his son, Benjamin Lindsev, Jr., 




UNITED STATES REVENUE MARINE BARK S. P. CHASE. 

was associated with him. In 1831 they started the Daily Mercur}-, 
the first daily established in New Bedford, and the senior partner 
soon after retiring, the entire management devolved upon the son, 
who published it undl July 15, 1861, when, having been appointed 
United States consul at St. Catherines, Brazil, he sold the news- 
paper establishment to C. B. H. Fessenden and William G. Baker. 
In May, 1876, the Mercury passed by purchase into the hands of the 
present proprietoi-s, Stephen W. Booth, W^arren E. Chase, and William 



114 NEW BEDFORD. 



L. Sayer, who now conduct it as a morning paper. The weekly 
edition is also published by the same lirm, which is known as the 
Mercury Publishing Company. The daily has four pages and the 
weekly twelve. 

The Daily Evening Standard was first issued on Friday, February 
15th, 1850, and was a sheet nineteen by twenty-seven inches in size. 
Edmund Anthony, the publisher, was a native of Swansea, and for 
some years carried on the printing business in Taunton, where he 
founded the Taunton Democrat, now the Gazette, and its weekly 
edition. In January, 1864, Mr. Anthony commenced the publica- 
tion of the Springfield Union and July 26th of that year it was 
announced that the Standard would appear in the name of E. 
Anthony & Sons, Edmund Anthony, Jr., and Benjamin Anthony 
being admitted as partners. Mr. Anthony disposed of his Spring- 
field enterprise in about two years and returned to New Bedford, 
where he died January 24, 1876, at the age of sixty-seven years. 
The style of the firm continues as before. The Republican Standard, 
weekly, commenced at the same time with the daily. Both the daily 
and weekly are eight page newspapers, large sheets of fifty-six 
columns. 

Both of the New Bedford newspapers are conducted with vigor 
and spirit, and maintain a good position for character, enterprise, and 
ability among the journals of Massachusetts. Each of them has the 
news service of the Associated Press, furnished by private telegraph 
wires terminating in their editorial rooms, and each has an active 
and etficient corps of local reporters and correspondents. Several 
attempts to establish other papers have been made, but they haVe 
uniformly been unsuccessful. 

The Whalemen's Shipping List and Merchants' Transcript enjoys 
the distinction of being the only paper of its kind in the world. It 
has been noticed elsewhere in this volume. 

The old gentleman also brought to the notice of his friends the 
many organizations of philanthropy and reform, such as the Women's 
Reform and Relief Society, which maintains a temporary home at 
the corner of Merrimac and Pleasant streets ; the Orphans' Home, on 
French avenue, at the corner of Cove street, which was organized in 
1842 and maintains about thirty inmates ; the Day Nursery, which 
cares for children whose parents are compelled to relinquish their 
care during the working hours of the day ; the Young Men's Chris- 




RESIDENCE OF EDWARD D. MANDELL. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



117 



tian Association and Women's Auxiliary ; the Women's Christian 
Association ; the Port Society, with its Ladies' Branch, maintaining a 
home and church for seamen ; the Ladies' City Mission Society ; 
the Association for the Relief of Aged Women, and the Union for 
Good Works. This latter is a noble institution, not only because it 
cares for the poor, but because it aids them to be self-reliant and self- 
supporting by tiding over times of need. It provides sewing or other 
woi'k for needy women ; it maintains a sales-room for the handiwork 
of the indigent or the gentlewoman reduced in circumstances, whether 
the work be preserves, needle-work, or anything that is salable ; it 
has a large reception-room well stocked with the best papers, period- 
icals, and magazines, books, all the parlor games, etc. ; it provides 
throughout the winter season a series of popular entertainments of 
high order and little cost ; in short, it endeavors to lighten the burdens 
of those in dependence or distress, and to make pleasanter the life of 
those whose existence is a continuous struggle. It has the spending 
of about three-quarters of the income of $100,000 left by James 
Arnold tor the aid of the worthy poor of the city of New Bedford. 
Besides that it has accumulated a fund of about $30,000 by donation 
and otherwise. This will not be touched, however, until it has 
reached at least $50,000. It will then provide sufficient income to 
meet the expenses of the Union. There are various branches of 
w^ork, including the relief committee, the sewing women's branch, 
the fruit and flower committee, the prison committee, the hospitality 
section, and others. The Union is the outgrowth of a sermon 
preached by Rev. William J. Potter at his tenth anniversary, but it is 
not sectarian in any sense. Its attractive rooms are on Purchase 
street, in the second story of the building occupied by the Five Cents 
Savings Bank. 

The Young Men's Christian Association, which was organized in 
1867, has developed into a most prosperous and efficient institution. 
While it has grown slowly into public favor, it has also grown surely, 
and it now has a high place in popular esteem. In November of 
1888, its membership had reached five hundred fiftv. The rooms 
of the Association are in the second and third stories of the build- 
ing of the New Bedford Safe Deposit and Trust Company, at the 
corner of William street and Acushnet avenue. A reading room and 
library are open day and evening, and Sunday afternoon ; appropriate 
religious work is conducted at stated periods ; two courses of lectures 



Il8 NEW BEDFORD. 



and entertainments are carried on, one for the members and one for 
the public ; educational classes of varied nature are maintained ; and 
various other enterprises find a place in the work of the Association. 
A movement is now on foot to erect for the Association a building of 
its own. 

Then there are two excellent hospitals : St. Luke's on Fourth 
street, and St. Joseph's on Pleasant street. St. Luke's is compara- 
tively a new institution. The organization was effected on the twelfth 
of April, 1884, though several meetings of those interested had been 
held previously. Soon after the organization, the lot No. 81 Fourth 
street was purchased, with the commodious house located thereon, 
and the hospital was placed in active operation. The following 
physicians were appointed on the medical staff: Edward P. Abbe, 
William N. Swift, A. Martin Pierce, Charles D. Prescott, J. J. B. 
Vermyne, and George T. Hough. A woman's board of management 
has general charge of the hospital work, which has been thus far 
exceedingly successful and satisfactory. The corporation has the 
following officers : President, Horatio Hathav/ay ; Vice-President, 
Charles W. Clifford ; Secretary, Edward S. Taber ; Treasurer, Charles 
W. Plummer ; with a long list of trustees. It is largely supported by 
the contributions of the people of New Bedford, though an endowment 
fund is in process of accumulation. 

St. Joseph's Hospital is an enterprise of the Roman Catholic 
church, and was established in 1873, through the efforts of Rev. L. 
S. McMahon, now bishop of Hartford. St. Lawrence parish has 
the honor of its foundation, although it was, at the outset, assisted by 
man}- Protestants. The hospital building is admirably adapted to the 
work lor which it is used, and under the supervision of the Sisters of 
Mercy, the institution has done a vast amount of good. Dr. Stephen 
W. Hayes is the physician in charge, and he is assisted by a medical 
corps including Doctors Edward P. Abbe, John H. Mackie, F. H. 
Hooper, George T. Hough, J. J. B. Vermyne, and William H. 
Taylor. The officers of the corporation are : President, Rev. H. J. 
Smyth ; Treasurer, John McCullough ; Secretary, S. W. Hayes, 
M. D. The hospital depends entirely upon contributions for its 
support. 

In both hospitals patients are admitted without regard to their 
religious views. 

Attention was also called to the electric and gas lighting systems ; 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 121 

to the travelling facilities provided by the Old Colonv railroad com- 
pany, and to the comfortable and pleasant homes of the city, after the 
best methods of New England life. Above all, the climate of New 
Bedford is salubrious and renders it one of the most attractive resi- 
dence cities in this part of the country. In summer the southwest 
winds blowing athwart the bay, fan the heated city to a most 
comfortable degree of temperature. The breeze gains strength at 
nightfall and the nights are deliciously cool. Nor is the city subject 
to extremes of cold, compared with places of the same latitude in the 
interior. The temperature of the water in the bay is said to be ten 
degrees warmer than that within Cape Cod bay. 

In this connection, the following figures, furnished by Thomas R. 
Rodman, a local meteorologist, will be found interesting : 

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE. 

Degrees F. 

.lanuary, for seventy-six years, 28.1.5 

February. •' " 2vS.89 

March. " " 34.88 

April, •' " 44.7ri 

May, '• •' .54.64 

.June. •' •• 64.0.5 

July, " •• 69.00 

August, for seventy-five years, 68.32 

September. '•'• '• .59.2.5 

October, for seventy-six years, .52.11 

November. '■ •" 41.79 

December. •• •• 31.89 

AVEKAG1-: RAINFALL. 

Inches. 

•January, for sevt'uty-five years 3.88 

February. '• " 3.82 

March. '• '' 4.16 

April. •' " 3.94 

May, '• '• 3.96 

•June. '• '• 3.15 

.July. ^' '• 3.36 

August, for seventy-four years -t-'^' 

September. • '' 3.53 

October, for seventy-five years 3.81 

November, '" " ' "*•"' 

December. '• " ^-^'^ 



122 NEW BEDFORD. 

The record of the temperature commenced in October, 1812, and 
that of rainfall in October, 1813. 

"This street has a reputation for beauty which is national," said the 
old resident, as he drove through County street, the driveway of which 
is fifty feet in width. "Many strange processions have been seen on 
this street. Late one September afternoon in 1775 between four thou- 
sand and tive thousand British regulars landed at the foot of this 
avenue and the first military procession we hear of in New Bedford 
marched up the road to the village, burning the houses and the ship- 
ping at the wharves. Their approach was watched by the peaceful 
inhabitants of the old town from the housetops, by the aid of spy 
glasses, and as the military marched up the rough road the affrighted 
people fied into the neighboring country. Imagine that procession 
of red coated military men, 

"Well, well! 

• Tlie kuights are dust, 
Their swords are rust, 
Their souls are with the saints wo trust." 

"Then think of the old fashioned equestrian parties, starting on 
a journey up the road, — the gentlemen with their three cornered hats, 
Quaker dress, and top boots ; the ladies in simple travelling dress ; 
behind each saddle the leathern bags containing their luggage. The 
old street has undergone many transformations since. The dwellings 
which are distributed over the beautitul hill are pleasing in archi- 
tecture and proportion, but the overshadowing elms, green lawns, and 
blooming gardens particularly arouse admiration. Among the hand- 
somest of the older residences is the house on the east side of County 
street, between Pearl and Willis streets, which was the palatial resi- 
dence of John Avery Parker, a prominent merchant who was identi- 
fied with the prosperity of the whale-fishery, and erected by him in 
1834 ' ^^^ mansion now occupied by Hon. William J. Rotch on the 
west side of the street, between Union and Arnold streets ; the resi- 
dence of the late Hon. Abraham H. Howland, an imposing structure of 
granite ; and the home of the late Hon. Joseph Grinnell, for many 
years the president and guiding spirit in the Wamsutta mills, and to 
whom the honor and credit of this great industry is largely due. 
There are many more modern residences, which you will notice. The 
county court house, a building of brick, with wooden pillars, sets back 
from the street. In this building the registrv of deeds is located. 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 



125 



"If we drop in here for a call on the register. Hon. George B. 
Richmond, he will give us some figures indicating a boom in real 
estate hereabouts. The registry includes New Bedford and the towns 
of Acushnet, Fairhaven, Dartmouth, and Westport. The first deed 
here was recorded July i , 1837 . The number of instruments recorded 
in the office have been as follows: 1838, 648; 1870, 1123; 1875, 
1265 ; 1880, 1482, and in 1887, 2396. 

"At the southeast corner of County and William streets stands a 
house now occupied by George F. Bartlett, which was the residence 
of Sylvia Ann Rowland. It was built for Thomas Rotch, a son of 




SUMMER HOME OF GEN. PHILIP1H. SHERIDAN AT NONQUITT. 

William Rotch, Jr., and after his death his sister, who married Charles 
Fleming, occupied it. The}' are said to have given the first dancing- 
party ever held in a private house in New Bedford. This was about 
fift}' years ago. 

"And if we turn through Arnold or Orchard or Cottage streets, 
and drive out on Hawthorn, you cannot help agreeing with me that 
this part of our city constitutes a perfect park. The residences are 
many of them of the popular Qiieen Anne order of architecture and 
the surroundings are most picturesque. 

"And now we will take the Point Road drive, which is so 
famous I think you must have heard of it. Clark's point, you know, 



126 NEW BEDFORD. 

is a strip of land projecting into the waters of the bay. Around this 
point. Mayor Rodney French built a driveway eighty feet in width, 
in 1853, at a very large expense and it has since been kept in the 
best of repair, $20,000 having been expended upon it by the city gov- 
ernment within five years. The road is three and one half miles in 
length and about one third of it is macadamized. He who takes this 
drive for the iirst time is sure to be enchanted by the scene, and it has 
so much variety, such deliciousness in curve and winding, such 
graciousness in the union of sea and shore, and such charm of color, 
that increased acquaintance makes one more in love with it than ever. 
The river is on the east and a cove makes up on the west, while the 
bay opens before us. The sparkling water, the white sails, and the 
breath of the field and shore, fill one with exaltation ; you not onl}' 
see the beauty of the place, you smell it and breathe it. At the junc- 
tion of Cove street with French avenue is the Orphans' Home. The 
name of the institution indicates its purpose and it is one of the most 
worthy and blessed of our institutions. On summer evenings the 
avenue is resorted to by the owners of fast horses, and exciting brushes 
add to the interest of a drive around the point. The red roofed towers 
which we see on the west shore of the bay mark Nonquitt. It was 
here that Gen. Phil Sheridan spent the summers of his life and here 
he died. Miss Louisa M. Alcott also spent several summers at Non- 
quitt and Robert Swain Gifibrd, the artist, has a studio' and summer 
home overlooking the bay. At our left, as we drive down the west side 
of the avenue, is Woodlawn grove, a remarkably pretty spot controlled 
by the street railway company. There are bathing houses opposite, 
and as the street cars run down to this point, the grove and beach are 
much resorted to here. Here and there you will see a pretty cottage 
among the trees, but for the most part there are simph' stretches of 
green fields and grove."' 

"Why is it that so lovely a spot has not been bought up for 
summer homes?" was asked. 

"Couldn't say for the life of me. Land is cheap and nothing- 
seems to be lacking to make this an ideal abiding place during the 
heated term. Look at that bit of shore. Where can you find any- 
thing more picturesque than that clump of gnarled oaks with their 
background of blue sky and water and green landscape on the oppo- 
site shore? 

"On the end of the point is a granite fort, commenced during 



SEEING THE SIGHTS. 1 29 



the rebellion, but nev^er quite completed. It was planned after Fort 
Sumter and was garrisoned during the war. Now a sergeant and a 
few men are in charge. The tower of a lighthouse remains, but the 
light has been removed to the parapet of the fort. You may be 
interested to know that the (irst lighthouse was built here about the 
year 1800. It was a wooden structure and at the raising a hundred- 
gallon trypot of chowder was prepared. This house was destroyed 
bv fire during a tempest one night. 

"Buzzards bay is now betbre us. It was discovered by the 
Northmen in the tenth century and by them named StraumHord. which 
means, when liberally translated. Bay of Currents. Subsequently it 
was discovered by Gosnold in 1602 and named Gosnold's Hope, and 
by the early settlers of Dartmouth it was named • Buzzards bay." 
probably from the fish hawks which abounded. In the distance, 
lying blue against the horizon, are the Elizabetli islands, sixteen in 
number, the principal of which are : 

Xiii«havveiia, Pesiiuiuese. 
Cuttyhunk and Penekese, 
Naiishou, Xonainesset, 
Oiikatouka and Wepecket. 

"Driving back to the city along the east side of the point, the 
Acushnet river is on our right. On the left the city almshouse is 
located, a fine, large building of granite, surrounded by a fine farm ot 
many acres. Strangers invariably inquire who owns that imposing 
residence. There are also a number of pretty residences, but plenty 
of available building sites. The view of the city and Fairhaven from 
this point is very delightful." 

Finally, the visitors were driven to Acushnet Heights, as the 
northwest portion of the city is called. Here are some of the finest 
private residences in the citv, and the view of the river, the harbor, 
the bay, and the adjoining shores, villages, and islands, is one ot 
the most beautiful in the country. The view from this point is said to 
have excited the admiration of Washington Irving when on a visit to 

this city. 

Acushnet is a little village usually knt)\vn as the Head ot the 
River, about three and a half miles in a northerly direction trom City 
hall. The westerly part is on the New Bedtbrd side of the river and 
the easterly part is on the Fairhaven side. A short bridge ccMinects 



130 NEW BEDFORD. 



the two shores. The old mill dam at this point is very picturesque. 
It was the first stopping place on the old post route to Boston. 
East of the Long Plain road, in this town, stood the only block house 
ever built in this vicinity. It belonged to Thomas Wood, the father of 
the late Henrv T. Wood, and was built about two hundred and fift\' 
vears ago. It was sketched by a local artist named Hitchings, and a 
photograph of the drawing is preserved in the library building. 
Other adjoining towns are Dartmouth, Westport, and Freetown, pleas- 
ant villages, whose history is closely identified with that of this city. 
In the former town, as well as in the north part of Fairhaven and 
Acushnet, stood some of the first houses ever built by white men in 
this vicinity, the ruins of which still remain. 

At dinner that night the host apologized for doing so much talk- 
ing, saying his excuse was that he wished them to use their eyes while 
he poured his inadequate words of praise into their ears. Then he 
hinted that he would like to hear their impressions. 

The recital rewarded the old man for his trouble. The New 
Yorker expressed the conviction that the city can not be rivalled by 
anv summer "resort in the land, and said he proposed to have a cottage 
bv the sea, somewhere on Clark's point, before another summer. 

The business man spoke unreservedly of the favorable impres- 
sion he had received of the facilities which New Bedford offers for 
manufacturing. 

Both commended his public spirit and expressed the opinion that 
New Bedford people must have kept the advantages of their charm- 
ing city very much to themselves or it would long ago have been 
famous for something more than the b3'gone industry of whaling. 



CHAPTER IV. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 




HEN John Loudon, a caulker, came 
from Pembroke to the shores of the 
Acushnet river, in 1760, to engage in 
the building of ships, the foundation of 
New Bedford's mechanical industries 
was laid. Previous to that time an 
occasional lonely farmhouse on the 
County road, a ''try-house" near the 
shore, and a few small sloops in the 
harbor were the onl\- evidences of in- 
dustrial activity. But this enterprising caulker, seeking a field for 
the expansion of his energies and the bettering of his fortunes, set an 
example which was closely and quickly followed by Benjamin Taber 
and John Allen and Barzillai Myrick and Gideon Mosher and Elnathan 
Sampson, every one of them mechanics, who at once were established 
in their various branches of industry and who prospered with the 
growth of the village. From that day to this, first Bedford and then 
New Bedford has always been a place of busy and varied manufac- 
tures. The course of events at first led its industries into channels 
which were tributary to New Bedford's great enterprise, — the whale- 
fiskery. But those who have not closely studied the subject have no 
adequate idea of the variety and extent of mechanical pursuits made 
necessary by the first great business of the place. Of shipbuilders, 
riggers, sailmakers, carpenters, blacksmiths, painters, boatbuilders, 
caulkers, coopers, and blockmakers there was a mighty array, while 
few towns could ever boast of so many superior skilled mechanics, 



134 NEW KEDKORl). 

— men who were princes in their calling and whose names were 
known the world over as those ot" craftsmen without reproach. A 
cordage factory was built here at a very early date. It was burned 
by the British troops in 1778. But another must have taken its place 
soon after the close of the Revolution. Oil refineries and candle 
factories were numerous and thriving, and minor industries were 
never lacking, even when the city was apparently engrossed in the 
pursuit of whales in every ocean on the globe. It w^as not so difficult 
to turn to manufacturing when the whale-fisherv found itself con- 
fronted with w^ell-equipped competition. The people of New Bed- 
ford had been drilled to work with hand and with brain. They were 
of an industrial race. They turned hopefully to meet new conditions, 
and attacked the problem of their future with faith and courage. 
Thus out of the humble shops of those artisans of the long past have 
grown the splendid factories of the present and the budding enter- 
prises of the future. In the pages which follow the reader will rind 
depicted the industrial New Bedford of 1888. 

As a prelude to the detailed survey of New Bedford's business 
interests, the reader is invited to a glance at the following interesting 
tables, kindly furnished by the Massachusetts Bureau of Stadstics of 
Labor, in advance of their publication in rxw other form. Thev are 
tVom the forthcoming report of the manufacturing census of 1885, 
and are the latest available statistics of this character to be had. It 
should be remembered that since they were gathered, several new 
cotton mills have been erected, and that other enterprises have been 
established. 

Number of establishments, 420 

Capital invested in land, .$507,127 

in buildings and fixtures, 2,826,629 

in machinery, 5,101,580 

in implements and tools, 369,351 

in cash 4,799,194 

in credit : supplied by partners or stockholders, . 92,084 

in credit: notes on long time, etc., 1,373,730 

Total capital invested, $15,069,695 

Stock used : 

Brick, stone, etc., .$129,746 

Coal and wood (fuel), 156,997 

Findings and trimmings, 18,914 




RESIDENCE OF JONATHAN BOURNE. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 137 



Stock used — Continued. 

Food materials, $177,947 

Leather, 300,935 

Lumber, 230,296 

Fron and iron goods, 10"), 948 

Other metals and metallic goods, .{40,120 

Paints, oils, colors, ehemicals, etc 4.")8,4(i4 

Paper and paper materials, 31.009 

Wooden goods, 54,175 

Cotton (raw) 2,248,554 

Wool (raw), 180,000 

All other textile materials (raw), 470,700 

(Jotton goods 43,820 

Woollen and worsted goods, 01,835 

All other textile goods, 30,411 

Other articles specified 1,020,934 

Total, 80.000.805 

Goods made and work done : 

Boots, shoes, and slippers, .$751,240 

Building, building materials, and stone work, . S87,.508 

Clothing and straw goods 292,324 

Food preparations. 390,783 

Iron goods, 209,075 

Other metallic goods, 980,000 

Leather, 50,870 

Paints, colors, oils, chemicals, etc 911,880 

Paper and paper goods, 33..")0(» 

Printing and publishing, 295,248 

Textiles, 5,.S43,779 

Wooden goods, 333,718 

Wood and metal goods, 280,213 

Other goods specified, 514.032 

Total, .$11,334,770 

Persons employed (both sexes) : 
Males : 

Under 10 years of age, 3 

10 and over, under 14 57 

14 and over, under 21, . 1105 

21 and over, 4660 

Total, 5825 

Females : 

Under 10 years, 

10 and over, under 14, 44 

14 and over, under 21 ' 1195 

21 and over 1681 

Total 2920 

Total number (tf persons employed (both sexes) 8745 



138 NEW BEDFORD. 

Salaries paid. .$205,408 

Wages paid, $3,085,268 

Principal occupations* : 
Males : 

United States postal deparrujcnt service. 21 

Other national government service, 26 

City police department service, 52 

Citv street department service, 22 

Other city government service, 61 

Clergymen, ;j5 

Lawyers, 34 

Physicians and surgeons, 42 

Boarding and lodging house keepers and employes. 30 

Hotel keepers and employes, .55 

Restaurant keepers and emplojes, 25 

Saloon keepers and employes (liquor) 25 

Coachmen (in families), 36 

Servants (in families) 47 

Barbers and hairdressers, 67 

Scrubbers and cleaners (in mills). 18 

Stationai-y engineers and assistants 32 

Watchmen 37 

Merchants and dealers. 578 

Salesmen. 126 

Book-keepers and clerks, 535 

Agents, . 51 

Bank officials and employes, 39 

Brokers, 20 

Laborers and helpers (in stores), 21 

Boarding and livery stable keepers and employes, 74 

Carriage and hack drivers, 23 

Drivers of delivery wagons, 21 

Express company officials and employes, 34 

Horse railroad officials and employes, • 60 

Teamsters, 206 

Steam railroad officials and employes, 143 

Master mariners (sailing), 50 

Mariners (sailing), 242 

Steamboat officials and employes, 41 

Stevedores, 20 

Farmers, 53 

Farm laborers, 128 

Florists, 25 

Gardeners and assistants, 61 

Fishermen, 45 

Drill makers, . . . . ' 52 

Boot and shoe makei-s, 322 

Carpenters, 484 

Masons, 184 





jKwa^^^a^^: 



((Ilo.DENCE of SAMUEL ; . ERi 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. I4I 



Principal occupations, males — Continued. 

Painters, 185 

Plumbers, 24 

Carriage blacksmiths, 20 

Can-iage painters, 43 

Carriage trimmers, 18 

Carriage makers (not speeitied), 39 

Tailors, 58 

Cordage factory operatives, 154 

Cotton mill operatives, 2126 

Bakers (bread, cake, and pastry), 62 

Upholsterers, 17 

Glass works employes, 148 

Harness makers, 22 

Machinists, 156 

Blacksmiths, 98 

Britannia workers, 39 

Copper workers, 58 

Gold workers, 42 

Iron workers, 51 

Tin workers, 28 

Oil makers, 26 

Photographers, 20 

Compositors and printers, 51 

Boat builders, IS 

Calkers, 20 

Sail makers, 27 

Ship carpenters, 33 

Stone workers, 47 

Cigar makers, 20 

Coopers, 49 

Picture-frame makers, 193 

\\'oolien Miill operatives, 64 

Laborers, 800 

Apprentices, 67 

Scholars and students, 2340 

Children at work and at school, 88 

IJetired, 441 

Xot given, 220 

Dependents (private support), 24 

At home, 1974 

Other occupations, 1200 

Total, 15,413 

Females : 

Music teachers, 32 

Teachers, 145 

Boarding and lodging house keepers and employes 33 

Hotel employes, 14 

Restaurant keepers and employes 18 



142 NEW BEDFORD. 



Principal occupations, females — ContinuKd. 

Housekeepers (in families), 68 

Housewives, 6659 

Housework, 1421 

Servants (in families), 822 

Laundry woi'k, 87 

Nurses, 66 

Saleswomen, 51 

Book-keepers and clerks, 97 

Boot and shoe makers, 67 

Di-essmakers, 353 

Milliners, 48 

Seamstresses, 44 

Shirt makers, 28 

Tailoresses, 66 

Cotton mill operatives, 1898 

Metal burnishers, 18 

Picture-frame makers, 44 

Woollen mill operatives, 32 

Scholars and students, 2466 

Children at work and at school, 58 

Retired, 115 

Not given, 699 

Dependents (private support), 75 

At home, 2092 

Other occupations, 364 

Total, 17.!)S() 

It may be of interest to compare the census reports of 1880 and 
1885, as a means of giving some idea of the progress of the city. 
The figures are tabulated for the purpose of easy comparison : 

1880. 1885. 

Number of establishments, 297 420 

Number of employes, 5, .507 8,745 

Wages for the year .$1,907,773 03,085,268 

Capital invested, #7,143,507 .$15,069,695 

Stock used, $5,256,269 $6,066,805 

Value of product, .$8,880,384 $11,3.34,770 

The pages following are devoted to histories and descriptions of 
manufacturing and other enterprises which have a home in New 
Bedford. 




RESIDENCE OF MRS. EDWARD T TABER. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



COTTON MANUFACTURING. 



H5 



New Bedford stands third in the number of spindles in operation 
among the cotton manufacturing cities of the countr}-, being exceeded 
by Fall River and Lowell only. In the number of looms she is 
fourth, Manchester, N. H., in addition to the cities just named, out- 
ranking her. Her mills are among the best examples of their class 
in architecture, construction, and equipment, while the quality of 
their products has no superior in this country or in any other. 
Labor troubles have been infrequent and usually unimportant, and 
the toilers in New Bedford's cotton mills are ranked as the best of 
workers in the textile indu.stries. It has not been the policy of New 
Bedford's business men to confine their city's enterprises to one class 
of industries, but the manufacture of cotton goods now holds the first 
place in extent and importance. 

Possibly not another cotton tactory on the globe has sent the 
renown of its name into so many homes in so many widely separated 
regions as the Wamsutta mills. The policy of its management to 
make the best goods and the best only, continued for almost half a 
century and never for one moment relaxed, has placed its products 
in the highest place among the textile manufactures of the world. 

Yet, when this magnificent enterprise was first mooted, a noted cot- 
ton manufacturer of another city, a very estimable gentleman, though 
not altogether far-seeing, remarked in a semi-sarcastic way that he 
"would write the history of the Wamsutta mills and put it in his vest 
pocket."' The complete history of the Wamsutta mills would rill 
many printed pages. We can glance but hurriedly at its chief points 
of interest. Back in the 40's, Dwight Perry, who was from Fair- 
haven, had a small cotton mill in one of the southern states. Thomas 
Bennett, Jr., a young man also from Fairhaven, who was employed 
in the mill, perhaps foreseeing something of the stupendous future of 
the cotton industry of America, became desirous of being at the head 
of an enterprise of his own. Not having sufficient capital at his com- 
mand, he came to New Bedford, where he hoped to raise the funds. 
The late Joseph Grinnell of this city was at that time a member of 
congress, and he was naturally appealed to for aid and influence. It 
appears that Mr. Grinnell was at first somewhat favorably impressed 
with the idea of establishing the factory at the south. But as he con- 
sidered the subject he became satisfied that this was not the better plan. 



146 NEW BEDFORD. 



Possibly he may have looked forward to a time — then unthought of 
by most dwellers in New Bedford — when the whale-fishery must be 
content to take a second place as an outlet of enterprise. Perhaps the 
mutterings of the coming deadly struggle over the question of slavery 
influenced him to look with disfavor on the south as a field for the 
investment of northern capital. At all events, he finally asked : 
"Why not locate this mill in New Bedford?" So far as he was con- 
cerned, at least, he practically answered his own question by insisting 
that it must be located in New Bedford, if he was to be expected to 
aid it. Thus it came to pass that the Wamsutta cotton mill was estab- 
lished in the city whose chief thought at the moment was the fitting of 
whaleships and the capture of whales. But with the decision to 
build a cotton mill in New Bedford, the work was only begun. It 
was not easy to secure subscriptions to the capital stock, though its 
total amount was fixed at only $160,000. Men did not understand it ; 
they did not know about it ; they cared nothing for it ; they did not 
believe in it. Fall River was rising into prominence as a cotton man- 
ufacturing city, but the idea was something strange to New Bedford. 
The original subscription list, short and formal as it is, reveals some- 
thing of the doubt with which the plan was regarded. Most of the 
subscriptions were for small amounts, — evidently to "help the thing 
along" out of friendship for its projectors. Among the names on the 
list for the largest amounts are those of Gideon Rowland, Sylvia Ann 
Rowland, Thomas Mandell, Ward M. Parker, David R. Greene, 
Latham Cross, and Grinnell, Minturn & Co., of New York. The 
only subscribers on that list who are now living are Jonathan Bourne, 
John R. Thornton, Thomas Bennett, Jr., and William J. Rotch. 
Most of the leading men of New Bedford were represented, but it 
was rarely that one individual subscribed for over ten shares, and the 
largest number for any one was one hundred fifty. In passing, it is 
just to say that to the untiring labor of the late Edward L. Baker 
in persistently seeking additions to that first list of subscribers, is 
due in large measure the successful establishment of the enterprise. 
He was indefatigable in the work and gave to it his best energies. 
On the 8th of April, 1846, the Massachusetts legislature granted a 
charter to the new corporation, Matthew Luce, Jireh Perry, and 
Thomas S. Rathaway being named as the incorporators. Shortly 
after, the organization was effected with officers as follows : 




JK;@y»»ifij 



INOUSTRIAL AM) FINANCIAL. 1 49 

President — Joseph Grinnell. 
Treasurer — Edward L. Baker. 

Directors — Joseph Grinnell, David R. Greene. Thomas Mandell, 
Joseph C. Delano, Pardon Tillinj^hast. 

Thomas Bennett. Jr.. was elected superintendent. Under his 
manaj^ement. rirst tor a tew 3^ears under the title of superintendent 
and then for many years as superintendent and agent, the factory 
grew to include four great mills and earned its splendid reputation in 
the markets of the world. Mr. Bennett gave to the work of building 
up the enterprise, well-trained faculties, a marvellous executive ability, 
and a determination to be excelled by nobody. He carried his mani- 
fold burdens well and he is preeminently one of the men to whom the 
Wamsutta corpopation ow^es its immense success. Mr. Bennett con- 
tinued as superintendent and agent until the spring of 1874, when he 
was succeeded by Edward Kilburn, who continued in that position 
until the summer of 1887. Mr. Kilburn was in turn succeeded by 
Edward R. Milliken, who held the position for a few months only. 
On the first of January, 1888. William J. Kent assumed the duties of 
agent, which office he now holds. 

Mill No. I, a stone structure, two hundred twelve feet by seventy 
feet, with five floors, was commenced in 1847. Its architect was Seth 
H. Ingalls of this citv. Mr. Bennett assumed the active manage- 
ment at once, with David Whitman of Rhode Island, a celebrated 
mill engineer, as an adviser. These gentlemen recommended the 
manufacture of the standard shirtings which have made the reputation 
of the mills. In 1848, work was begun in the mill, and the first cloth 
was made in February of 1849. At that time there were fifteen 
thousand spindles and two hundred looms. An extension of the mills 
came to be demanded within six or seven years by the increase ot 
business, and about 1854. smother four-storied building, with attic, 
two hundred forty feet long bv seventy feet wide, was erected imme- 
diately adjoining the original mill. It was equipped with sixteen 
thousand spindles and three hundred looms. Soon, however, the 
product of the two mills was absorbed by the market, and the demand 
for more was urgent. Accordingly, in i860, a duplicate of mill No. 
2, with sixteen thousand spindles and three hundred looms, was put 
in operation. In those days the three stone mills, with their tbrty- 
seven thousand spindles, seemed an enormous establishment, and 
many men wondered if it were wise to attempt to carr^' on so immense 



150 NEW BEDFORD. 



a business. But less than ten years later it was found necessar}^ to 
erect a mill which of itself almost doubled the capacity of manufac- 
ture. This was mill No. 4, begun in 1868. It is of brick, with gran- 
ite foundation, four hundred ninet3^-five feet long, seventy-five feet 
wide, and four stories high, with attic. This mill contains thirty-eight 
thousand spindles and eleven hundred looms. Seven more years 
passed, and in 1875, No. 5 mill came into being. It stands on aline 
with No. 4, with which it is substantially uniform, though its dimen- 
sions differ somewhat. Its length is four hundred thirty-three feet 
and its width ninety-three feet. In it were placed fifty thousand 
spindles and one thousand looms. In 1874 fourteen thousand spindles 
had been distributed among the various mills then existing, so that when 
mill No. 5 was completed, the entire number of spindles set in motion 
was one hundred fifty thousand. Yet even these failed to satisf}' the 
still increasing demand. In 1881-82, No. 6 mill was built of brick, 
three stories high, five hundred sixty-nine and one-half feet long, and 
ninety-five feet wide. It contains fifty-one thousand spindles and 
one thousand seventy-two looms, and within its walls are employed 
six hundred workers. With its completion the whole number of hands 
employed by the corporation was brought up to twenty-six hundred. 
Over two hundred three thousand spindles and nearly fort3'-five 
hundred looms are in operation. 

The magnitude of the motive power required to move the innu- 
merable machines in the six great mills is almost beyond imagination, 
even when aided by figures and descriptions. There is one single 
upright beam Corliss engine of three hundred horse power, one pair 
of engines of eight hundred horse power, one pair of eleven hundred, 
and one monster pair of two thousand horse power. Visitors to the 
centennial exposition at Philadelphia in 1876 will remember the great 
engine which was among the marvels of that collection of wonders, 
but though they could scarcely comprehend it, at that very time a 
larger engine was running in New Bedford. This enormous piece of 
machinery has a stroke of ten feet ; the weight of its fly wheel is 
about fifty tons, and other parts are in like proportion. 

The products of the Wamsutta mills are some seventy or eighty 
varieties, in all grades and widths, of fine shirtings, cambrics, muslins, 
lawns, momie cloth, sateens, and cretonnes, and bleached and brown 
sheetings, plain, twilled, and double warp, in all widths up to one 
hundred twentv-four inches. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



153 



Of the quality of Wamsutta shirtings and sheetings it is hardly 
necessary to speak. Beginning with a high standard, it has been the 
constant aim not only to maintain it but to elevate it. During the 
war, when so many manufacturers sacrificed their good reputations 
by abandoning their standards and trying to make the most cloth- 
possible with the least cotton, the Wamsutta scrupulously kept up the 
quality of its goods in every particular. These goods alone made 
"Wamsutta" a household word in almost every quarter of the globe. 
The mills consume weekly, when in full operation, four hundred fifty 
bales of cotton, making an annual consumption of over twenty thou- 
sand bales, out of which is manufactured tw^entv-four million vards 
of cloth, — thousands upon thousands of miles ! 

Great care is exercised in the selection of cotton from which this 
cloth is made, especially with regard to the staple. Every bale under- 
goes a rigid inspection. Much of the cotton used by the Wamsutta 
mills is what is known in the market as "benders," so named because it 
is grown in the bends of the Mississippi river where the rich soil pro- 
duces a particularly strong staple. The system of tests and inspec- 
tions is very complete and thorough, making it impossible for a piece 
of cloth from these mills to get into the market unless it is worthv to 
bear the name "Wamsutta." One-iialf of the cloth is sold directlv to 
the trade in the "gray" or "brown," as it is termed. The remainder 
goes directly to the bleachery of W. F. & F. C. Sayles, of Pawtucket, 
R. I., the largest establishment of the kind in the United States, 
where all Wamsutta goods are bleached. At the bleachery another 
inspection of the cloth is made, furnishing one more safeguard to pro- 
tect the good name of Wamsutta. 

Of the operatives who make this cloth, as has alreadv been said, 
there are twenty-six hundred. They are principally English, Scotch, 
Irish, and French Canadians, with a slight sprinkling of Americans 
and a few of other nationalities. The corporation provides for them 
well built, comfortable tenements of six and seven rooms each — over 
three hundred in number — and rents them at from $6.50 to $9 a month. 

At the beginning, as has already been stated, the capital of the 
Wamsutta mills was $160,000. It has been increased several times, 
as follows: In 1849, to $300,000; in 1855, ^^ $600,000; in i860, to 
$1,000,000: in 1868. to $2,000,000: in 1875. ^^' $2,500,000; and in 
1882, to $3,000,000. It now stands at the last-named figure. 

Joseph Grinnell, who was the first president of the corporation, 



154 NKW BEDFORD. 



served it faithfully in that capacity, giving it daily and constant 
thought, and exerting all his powers of mind and body in its behalf, 
to the time of his death, February 7, 1885. He was succeeded by 
Andrew G. Pierce, who had been treasurer since the resignation of 
Edward L. Baker, on the 25th of August, 1855. Mr. Pierce now is 
both president and treasurer. It is a suggestive fact, as showing 
the rapid changes in human affairs, that of all who were in any way 
connected with the management of the mills when first started, only 
two — Thomas Bennett, Jr., and Mr. Pierce — are now living. 

The present board of directors of the Wamsutta mills is composed 
of the following named gentlemen : William W. Crapo, William J. 
Rotch, Edward D. Mandell, Horatio Hathaway, Francis Hathaway, 
Francis B. Greene, and Andrew G. Pierce. 

The selling agents of the corporation are Lewis Brothers & Co., 
of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and Francis A. Foster, 
of Boston. 

The Potomska mills are two in number, located on South Water 
street, and manufacture fine lawns, sateens, print cloths, cretonnes, 
jeans, etc. Potomska mill No. i was erected in 1871 and went into 
operation with a capital of $600,000. This mill is four hundred 
twenty-seven by ninety-two feet in area and four stories high, with a 
weaving shed one hundred eight by ninety-seven feet, one story high. 
It is provided with forty-eight thousand spindles and one thousand six 
looms. 

Potomska mill No. 2 was built in 1877, when the capital stock 
was increased to $1,200,000. The main building is three hundred 
forty-eight b}' ninety-two feet in area, four stories high, with an ell one 
hundred eighty-four by ninety-two feet, two stories high, a weaving 
shed one hundred eighty-four by ninety-two feet, one story high, and 
a picker house seventy-one by forty-seven feet, two stories high, all 
of brick. This mill has fifty-eight thousand three hundred twenty- 
eight spindles and one thousand four hundred twenty-eight looms. 
The total number of spindles in both mills is therefore one hundred 
six thousand three hundred twenty-eight and the total number of 
looms two thousand four hundred twenty-four. Both mills are driven 
by Corliss double twenty-eight inch cylinder, five-foot stroke engines, 
of eight hundred horse power each. The two mills employ about 
eleven hundred operatives. The company owns twenty-six four- 
tenement houses, which are rented to the help. 



d 




1 



j^ 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 157 



The first president was James Robinson, who was succeeded by 
Edward Kilburn, who was in turn succeeded by Andrew G. Pierce. 
Hiram Kilburn acted as superintendent and agent until January, 1884, 
when Manly U. Adams succeeded him in the latter capacity. The 
present officers are : 

President — Andrew G. Pierce. 

Treasurer and agent — Manly U. Adams. 

Directors — Horatio Hathaway, William J. Rotch, William W. 
Crapo, Andrew G. Pierce, Edward Kilburn, William Watkins, and 
Francis Hathaway. 

The Grinnell Manufacturing Corporation was organized March 
14, 1882, with a capital of $800,000 and the following officers : 

President — Edward Kilburn. 

Treasurer — Otis N. Pierce. 

Directors — Edward Kilburn, New Bedford, Stephen A. Jenks, 
Pawtucket, William F. Draper, Hopedale, Thomas M. Stetson, 
Joseph A. Beauvais, Andrew G. Pierce, Thomas B. Wilcox, John W. 
Macomber, Charles W. Plummer, and Otis N. Pierce, New Bedford. 

There has been no change in officers, but upon the resignation of 
William J. Kent, to accept the agency of the Wamsutta Mills, James 
Brenand was chosen superintendent. Over one hundred diffi^rent 
styles of plain and fancy weaves are manufactured here. The mill 
has no standard, but manufactures entirely on contract. The mill 
started January 29, 1883, and is eight hundred eighty feet long, 
ninety-eight feet wide, and three stories high. It is equipped with 
sixty-eight thousand spindles and eighteen hundred looms, and em- 
ploys over eight hundred hands. The company owns twenty-seven 
two tenement houses. 

The Acushnet mills corporation was organized in November, 
1882, with a capital of $750,000, and early in the following year a four 
stor}' factory was erected east of Water street and south of Potomska 
mills. Silesias, sateens, and goods for the printers are made here. 
In 1887 a second mill was constructed and the capital stock was 
increased to $1,000,000. In the first mill erected there are sixty-eight 
thousand spindles, and in the second mill thirty-two thousand spindles, 
making a total of one hundred thousand spindles. The total number 
of operatives is about one thousand. The corporation owns twenty- 
three tenement houses, which are rented to the help. The officers are 
as follows : 



158 NEW BEDFORD. 



President — Horatio Hathaway. 

Treasurer — Joseph F. Knowles. 

Directors — Horatio Hathaway, Jonathan Bourne, WilHam W. 
Crapo, Thomas H. Knowles, Francis Hathaway, WiUiam A. Robin- 
son, Loum Snow, Jr., and Gilbert Allen, of this city, and Thomas E. 
Bray ton, of Fall River. 

About five years ago William D. Howland, who was at that time 
employed in the office of the Wamsutta mills, became interested in 
the manufacture of cotton yarns, and severing his connection with 
that corporation, travelled for several months, making a carelul study 
of that specialty. On his return to this city he succeeded in inter- 
esting a number of gentlemen, and in March, 1883, the New Bed- 
ford Manufacturing Company was organized, with a capital stock of 
$125,000 and with the following officers : 

President — Charles W. Clifford. 

Treasurer — William D. Howland. 

Directors — Oliver P. Brightman, Charles W. Clifford, Edmund 
Grinnell, Charles W. Plummer, Edward T. Pierce, William D. How- 
land, and David Wood. 

The original proposition was to fit the old flour mill in the north 
part of the city as a factory, but an offer made for the property was 
declined, and a piece of land on the south side of Hillman street, 
between North Second and Water streets, was purchased and the foun- 
dation of a mill was commenced in the following May. This mill 
is two hundred twenty-six by fifty-two feet in area and four stories 
high. The mill started with eleven thousand spindles and the first 
yarn was shipped in Januar_v, 1884. Since that time additions have 
been made, so that the mill now has twelve thousand mule and eight 
thousand frame spindles, and two thousand nine hundred eighty 
twister spindles. John M. Conway & Co., the oldest established yarn 
house in New York City, were the agents of the corporation and took 
the entire product. 

From the outset every effort was made to manufacture the best 
yarn in the market and improved machinery was constantly added in 
order to produce an article which would give satisfaction to the trade. 
Byron F. Card, who had acquired a large knowledge of yarns, was 
engaged as superintendent, and to his knowledge of the details of the 
manufacture the reputation of the company's j'arns in the market is 
due, in a measure. Soon after the industry was fairly under way, 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. i6l 



John H. Hines, another experienced man, was employed to take 
charge of the spinning, spooling, reeling, twisting, and warping 
departments. 

The sales of the first year aggregated over $90,000 in value, the 
earnings being about to per cent, of this sum. This showing was 
very gratifying to the stockholders and encouraged them to persevere 
in the enterprise. No dividend was declared, but the facilities were 
improved and the twisting equipments increased. 

At the end of two years the capital was increased to $150,000, 
by issuing $25,000 in certificates, representing the earnings of the 
corporation during this period. For the year following the earnings 
continued satisfactory, and dividends amounting to eight per cent. 
were paid. 

During the next year plans were made for doubling the capacity 
of the mill. Real estate immediately south of the original purchase 
was secured, and the corporation thus acquired the land v/ithin the 
square bounded by Hillman, North Second, North, and Water streets. 
In the spring of 1886, the building of a second mill commenced, with 
a capacity thirty per cent, larger than that of No. i mill. The dimen- 
sions of this second factory are two hundred eighteen by one hundred 
feet, and it is three stories high. It started in the autumn, with ten 
thousand frame spindles and five thousand twister spindles, and the 
capital was increased to $500,000, the present figure. The machin- 
ery has since been increased to seventeen thousand fil"tv-six frame 
spindles and seven thousand twister spindles. 

Even then the corporation was forced to buy yarn to meet the 
demands of its customers. The capacity of both mills has since been 
increased for the manufacture of finer grades of yarns. To do this 
it has been necessary to add to the other processes a combing depart- 
ment. The entire number of hands employed at present is three 
hundred. 

After the mills were fairly organized, Charles W. Clifibrd re- 
signed as president and Edmund Grinnell served in that capacity for 
about a year, when he also resigned and Morgan Rotch was elected 
and to-day holds that office. The other changes in the officers of 
the original corporation have been the election of Morgan Rotch as 
a director, in place of David Wood, and of George F. Kingman as a 
director, in place of Mr. Grinnell. 

The knowledge and experience gained in establishing and carry- 



l62 



NEW BEDFORD. 



ing on the business of the New Bedford Manufacturing Company, 
and the demand for liner grades of yarn, suggested a wider field. 
The idea of additional mills had been constantly discussed by the 
directors of the old company and it began to appear that the business 
was capable of much greater development than was at first thought 
possible. These and 
other considerations 
led Messrs. How- 
land, Rotch, Plum- 
mer, and ClifixDrd, 
with some others not 
identified wnth the 
New Bedford Manu- 
facturing Company, 
to purchase a large 
tract of land as the 
first step toward the 
establishment of the 
most extensive and 
best equipped cotton 
yarn manufacturing 
enterprise in the 
country. 

Negotiations for ^*^^>n?;^jj 
the purchase of a 
large tract of land in 
the southwest part 
of the city were com- 
menced, but inas- 
much as the owners 
were widely scat- 
tered over the globe, 
they were in progress 
nearly a year and a 
half before the mat- 
ter was first broached 
to the public. At 
length the title to 
about one hundred 




INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



i6k 



fifty acres of land, including the old Crapo and Ashley farms 
and a part of the real estate of the Cornelius Howland estate, was 
secured. This land is favorably situated for manufacturing and for 
the houses of the help. A part of the property is finely wooded, 
extending from the northwest corner of Clark's cove and skirtino- the 
salt marsh to County street. 

The idea of the purchase of so large a tract of land was that the 

company might profit from the cer- 
tain advance in the value of real es- 
tate in the vicinity of the mill. The 
territory has been laid out in accord- 
ance with modern ideas. It will be 
intersected by streets fifty and sixty 
feet wide, and breathing places, 
which may one day be fitted as 
parks, are provided for in the plans. 
When the land was finally se- 
cured, the plans for the first mill 
having been perfected, the contracts 
tor building and machiner}' were at 
A HOWLAND MILL COTTAGE. oucc issucd and the company organ- 

ized with a capital of $350,000 and the following officers : 

President — William J. Rotch. 

Treasurer — William D. Howland. 

Clerk — Charles W. Plummer. 

Directors — William J. Rotch, Horatio Hathaway, Thomas B. 
Tripp, Charles W. Clifford, Morgan Rotch, William J. Rotch, and 
Charles W. Plummer. 

The corporation is named for William D. Howland, who so suc- 
cessfully managed the New Bedford Manufacturing Company, and its 
title is the Howland Manufacturing Company. 

The mill is two hundred seventeen by one hundred leet in area 
and four stories in height, with a two-story picker house, sixty-two 
by one hundred feet, and an engine and boiler house ninet3'-nine by 
forty feet. Work was commenced May i , 1888, and the main building 
was completed August i, a period of seven weeks only having been 
required for the brickwork. The mill started with twelve thousand 
nine hundred fifty-two mule spindles, twelve thousand two hundred 
eighty-eight frame spindles, and six thousand one hundred forty-four 
twister spindles. About one hundred fifty hands are employed. 




1 66 



NEW BEDFORD. 



The company is building forty cottages for its operatives, and the 
dwellings are models. They are designed for single families and are 
of attractive and varied architecture. They are intended to provide 
comfortable, pretty, substantial, and convenient homes, adapted to the 
manner of life of the best class of cotton mill operatives. 

The City Manufacturing Company, which commenced in Decem- 
ber, 1888, the manufacture of fine medium cotton yarns in chains, 
skeins, and warps, and on spools and beams, was incorporated iVpril 
23, 1888, with a capital stock of $250,000 and the following officers : 

President — Otis N. Pierce. 

Clerk and treasurer — Benjamin Wilcox. 

Directors — Otis N. Pierce, Thomas B. Wilcox, Cyrenius W. 
Haskins, Thomas H. Knowles, Edward Kilburn, J. P. Knowles, Jr., 
and Rufus A. Soule, of New Bedford, S. A. Jenks, Qf Pawtucket, 
William, H. Parker, of Lowell, and Charles Tucker, of Dartmouth. 

The mill is located at the foot of Grinnell street and is of brick, 
one hundred twelve by two hundred six feet in area and three stories 
high. It is provided with twenty thousand four hundred eighty spin- 
dles and seven thousand twister spindles, and will employ, when in full 
operation, one hundred fifty hands. The experience of the manage- 
ment assures a successful enterprise. 

The cotton manufacturing enterprises of this city, as they now 
exist, may be grouped in a tabular statement as follows : 

Capital. 

Wamsutta, $3,000,000 

Potomska, 1.200,000 

Acushnet, 1,000,000 

Grinnell, 800.000 

New Bedford Manufacturing Company, 500,000 
City Manufacturing Company, .... 250,000 
Rowland, ." 350,000 



No. of Mills. Spindles. 


Employes 


. . 6 . 


. 203,000 . 


. 2600 


. . 2 . 


. 106,328 . 


. 1100 


. . 2 . 


. 100,000 . 


. 1000 




. 08,000 . 


. 800 


. . 2 . 


. 37,056 . 


. 300 




. 20,480 . 


. l.oO 




. 25,240 . 


. 1.50 



15 



560,104 



6100 



$7,100,000 

On the 22d of December, 1888, after the foregoing pages had 
been completed, the Hathaway Manufacturing Company was organ- 
ized for the manufacture of cotton cloths, with a capital of $400,000 
and the following officers : 

President — Horatio Hathaway. 

Clerk and treasurer — Joseph F. Knowles. 

Directors — Horatio Hathawa3s Jonathan Bourne, Sidney W. 
Knowles, Francis Hathaway, William W. Crapo, of New Bedford, 
Thomas E. Brayton, of Fall River, and Joseph F. Knowles, of New 
Bedford. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



169 



A mill of thirty thousand spindles, to employ about four hun- 
dred fift}- hands, will be erected east of Water street and south of the 
Acushnet mills. 

Two other important manu- 
facturinu^ enterprises, somewhat 
akin to the cotton industry, may 
properh' be mentioned in this con- 
nection. 

The New Bedford Cordage " 

Company was established in 1842 

b\' Joseph Ricketson, William J. 

Rotcli, and Benjamin S. Rotch, 

and in January, tour years later. 

it was incorporated by a special 

charter from the Commonwealth, 

with a capital of $60,000. This -z. 

amount was increased in 1849 ^^^ ^ 

$75 ,000. The officers at the time ^ 

were Joseph Ricketson, president, g 

William J. Rotch, clerk and treas- § [ 

urer, and Joseph Ricketson, g 

William J. Rotch, Benjamin S. § 

Rotch, and Leander A. Plummer, £ 

directors. In March, 1857, 5 

William T. Rotch was chosen h 

o 
president and Leander A. Plum- ^ 

mer treasurer and clerk. The for- 
mer continues in that capacity, but 
on the death of Mr. Plummer, in 
September, 18S4, Isaac W. Ben- 
jamin became treasurer. John 
W. Macomber is general manajjer 
of the enterprise. 

The industry has been very 
profitable and the product is many 
times laro-er than when the com- 
pany was organized. It makes 
a specialty of the manufacture of 
patent cordage employed in boring artesian wells. JNo superior arti- 




170 NEW BEDFORD. 



cle is made in the world, and the cordage rigging used on the Puritan 
and other fast racing yachts is made here. The buildings, nine in 
number, cover an area of four acres, located within the square bounded 
by Court, Park, Ash, and Kempton streets, and about two hundred 
fifty hands are employed. The machinery is operated by a superior 
steam engine of five hundred horse power and the company has 
adopted all the latest improvements which give promise of perfecting 
the product. 

The Oneko mill is situated tit the head of Purchase street and 
ladies' all wool dress goods, broadcloths, tricots, cheviots, and fancies 
are manufactured here. 

The corporation was organized in 1882, with a capital of $210,000 
and the mill was started the following year. The main building is 
one stor};^ high, with a monitor roof, and four hundred by one hundred 
fifty feet in area, while the picker and dye house is two hundred thirty 
by fifty-two feet in area. 

The mill is provided with five thousand spindles, sixty-three 
broad looms ninety-five and one hundred ten inches in width, and 
twelve sets of cards. The machinery is operated" by a two hundred 
fifty-two horse power Harris-Corliss engine, with three six-foot boilers, 
made by Cunningham, of Boston. 

Between seven hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand 
pounds of wool are worked annualh', and the cloth is made here and 
colored in the wool and piece. The annual product is about eight 
hundred thousand yards of cloth, and one hundred sixty-five hands 
are employed. 

The officers of the corporation are as follows ; 

President — Loum Snow, Jr. 

Treasurer — Robert Snow. 

Directors — Edward D. Mandell, Charles W. Plummer, Frederick 
S. Allen, Charles W. Clifford. George S. Homer, Thomas H. Knowles, 
and Loum Snow, Jr. 



•t/-vy V ■i;'fZ' 







INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



173 



THE MANUFACTURE OF OIL. 

To mention New Bedford without devoting some space to her oil 
manufactories would be to neglect the genius of the lamp, and too 
much credit cannot be given this industry for the present position of 
this city. 

William A. Wall's interesting picture of "The Origin of the Whale- 
tishery," which now hangs in the parlors of the home of the late Mrs. 
Charles W. Morgan, contains an illustration of the first oil factory in 
New Bedford. It consisted merely of a trypot under an old shed by 
the shore. Near by stands a man pouring oil from a long handled 
dipper into a wooden -hooped barrel. Another is handling over the 
blubber, while a third is coopering a barrel. The latter is engaged 
in conversation with an Indian who is seated upon a broken mast. 
On the shore, keeled over on her side, is one of the small sloops 
emplo3'ed in whaling at that time, and the river lies outstretched in 
the background. 

Seated upon the frame of a grindstone, and giving directions to 
a colored servant who holds his horse, is seen in his broad brimmed 
hat and Qiiaker coat, the founder of New Bedford and the father of 
her whale-lishery, Joseph Russell. 

The blubber taken by the little vessels, on their return from the 
vovages, which were of but a few weeks' duration, was brought as 
near the shore in the vessels as possible, w^hen the butts containing the 
blubber were drawn to Mr. Russell's tryhouse by ox teams. This was 
as early as 1765. 

Previous to the Revolution a candlehouse was built by Mr. Rus- 
sell, and Capt. Chafee, who had been engaged in manufacturing 
spermaceti in Lisbon, was employed by Mr. Russell at a salary of 
$500 per annum. This building stood near the corner of Centre and 
Front streets and was burned by the British. Fifty years after, or 
thereabouts, a number of factories were in operation. Among the 
first of these factories was that of Samuel Rodman. The building 
occupied by him is now standing on Water street, at the corner of 
Rodman street. It was built of stone and covered with plaster, and is 
at present unoccupied. Then there was the factory of Humphrey 
Hathaway, on the north side of School street, west of Fourth, and 




Uh. ."'I'" 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 1 75 



west of this stood the factory of Isaac Ilowland, Jr. From the best 
information obtainable, the old "marsh candle-works" were built by 
William Rotch & Sons, but this may not be a fact. These works 
occupied the site on which the gas works now stand, and the business 
here was subsequently conducted by Francis Rotch and Charles W. 
Morgan. At each of these factories sperm oil and candles were man- 
ufactured and whale oil was refine-d. 

Then John James Rowland built candle works at the corner 
of Second and Middle streets, the building now occupied as a soap 
factory, and soon after James Henry Rowland, a son of the above- 
named gentleman, and George Russey established the factory at the 
Smoking Rocks. William W. Swain built a factory on the north 
side of Middle street and the vat house of this building is now occu- 
pied as a storehouse by Charles S. Paisler & Co. Andrew Robeson 
built a factory on Ray street which subsequently came into the pos- 
session of Edward Mott Robinson. George Rowland had a factory 
on Rowland's wharf and William T. Russell engaged in the manufac- 
ture at 86 Third street. Charles W. Morgan carried on oil works 
at 82 South Water street, and one of the older factories was at 96 
First street, having been established by David Coffin. There was 
also a factory on Fish Island. 

Samuel Leonard was at one time the largest oil refiner in the 
country. He established the factory on the north side of Leonard 
street, east of Water, and he bought and sold oil in very large 
quantities. Some time in the 50's Samuel Leonard & Son erected the 
stone building on Acushnet avenue, now the carriage factory of 
George L. Brownell, occupying all that part of the present structure 
which is of stone. Nehemiah Leonard also operated a factory near 
that of Samuel, very successfully. At a later date Sanford & Row- 
land, the latter, Sydney Rowland, being a grandson of John Avery 
Parker, took the oil refinery of William W. Swain. While he owned 
it, it was burned, making a great fire for those days. It was rebuilt 
and was subsequently taken by Milliken Bros., of Boston, and then 
passed into the hands of Eben Milliken, of this city. George T. 
Baker established the factory on South street, which subsequently 
passed into the hands of Oliver and George O. Crocker and then to 
Charles H. Leonard. The business here is now carried on by George 
Delano's sons, who succeeded their father. Mr. Baker afterwards 
built the factory at the corner of Water and Madison streets, now occu- 



176 



NEW BEDFORD. 



pied by William A. Robinson & Co. Cornelius Grinnell built a 
factory on First street, at the northwest corner of South, and Joseph 
Ricketson built a factory at the northwest corner of Grinnell and First 
streets. The two latter were subsequently burned. The Hastings 




CUSTOM HOUSE AND POST OFFICE, 
built the factory at the foot of Grinnell street, which is still in opera- 
tion, and S. Thomas & Co. established the factory on Prospect street, 
now occupied by Homer Bros., about the year 1855. 

The above history is perhaps not absolutely accurate and no 
attempt has been made to give a list of the firms which succeeded 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. I77 

the founders of the various works. Such a list would include mem- 
bers of nearly all of our oldest representative families. 

The decline of the oil factories here dates from the advent of 
petroleum, but the discovery was not felt to any extent until after the 
war. When the war broke out the prices of sperm oil and bone 
advanced very materially and our merchants made large profits, pro- 
portionate to the risks, and as the owners of ships were subsequently 
reimbursed for tl\e destruction of their vessels, our oil merchants and 
manufacturers were greatly enriched. 

About the year 1857 Abraham H. Howland purchased the 
Joseph Ricketson works and commenced experimenting in the distil- 
lation of oil from coal. A company was formed consisting of Abraham 
H. Howland, William C. Taber, Joseph C. Delano, William P. 
Howland, John Hicks, Weston Howland, Henry T. Wood, and B. 
Franklin Howland, which established and successfully operated a 
coal oil factory. 

Weston Howland, the present collector of the port, claims, and 
so far as the writer knows the claim is not disputed, that he was the 
first person to successfully refine petroleum oil. There is no doubt 
but Mr. Howland was the first to place refined petroleum on the mar- 
ket and the story of this discovery, which effected a revolution in the 
oil business of the world, is very interesting. 

In i860 Mr. Howland was the secretary of the New Bedford 
Coal Oil Company. While in New York on business, he was told 
at the office of Josiah Mac}' & Sons, the New York agents for his 
companv, that Schieffelin Bros., the well-known chemists, wished 
to see him. At the office of the latter he met their leading chemist, 
who introduced the subject of petroleum. 

Petroleum had not yet been refined. It had been known for 
years and formerly had been collected by the Indians, who had taken 
it from the Alleghany river and Oil creek by spreading blankets upon 
the water, and wringing them when saturated. It was called Seneca 
oil and was used as a medicine. 

Atthattime there were a few wells in Pennsylvania and Schieffelin 
Bros, had about two thousand barrels of the oil on hand. Mr. How- 
land consented to make an attempt at refining the oil and a barrel 
was shipped to him. Then Mr. Howland commenced his experi- 
ments. He procured a large kettle from his kitchen and fashioned 
a crude condenser, and after a few trials his attempts at distillation 



178 NEW BEDFORD. 



were successful. But the oil procured was thick and muddy, with a 
vile odor, and had yet to be refined. Mr. Rowland accordingly filled 
a milkpan with the oil and experimented with alkalies and water, but 
the result was a foggy mixture of oil and water. Mr. Rowland was 
discouraged and, placing the pan in his barn, left it. 

When he returned he looked at his oil and found the problem 
solved. Mr. Rowland had left the door of his barn ajar and as the 
sun wore around its beams had reached the oil, and the process was 
completed. 

That evening Mr. Rowland filled three clean lamps, one with 
coal oil manufactured at the works of the New Bedford Oil Company, 
another with Downer's coal oil, and a third with petroleum. Then 
he lighted the lamps and called in his brother William to judge 
which was the best. The latter at once selected the petroleum lamp 
as giving the largest and brightest flame, with the least smoke. 

Mr. Rowland was convinced that petroleum was a success and 
that coal oil could not compete with it. Re at once purchased the 
oil works at Fish Island, procured stills and commenced the manu- 
facture of petroleum for the market. Re purchased fifteen hundred 
barrels of oil of Schieftelin Bros, at twenty-five cents a gallon and 
sold the refined oil for seventy-five cents as rapidlv as it could be 
manufactured. 

One day Mr. Rowland learned that the Downers had purchased 
all the oil in the market and had commenced the manufacture of the 
oil. Mr. Rowland sent an agent to the oil wells in November, i860, 
who contracted for the entire product. In the Januar}- following the 
works were destroyed by an explosion and two men were killed. 
The machinery was covered with sails that it might not be copied and 
the following day rebuilding commenced. A great deal of oil was 
sent to California. It was purchased at the refinery by William P. 
Rowland, shipped across the isthmus and over the mountains on 
jackasses and sold readily at $2 a gallon. The oil was shipped in 
tin cans, and the making of them became quite an important industry 
here at one time. Most of the cans were made by Stephen A. Tripp 
and Wood & Brightman. 

Subsequently the Seneca Oil Works were built at Willis Point 
and two small refineries were built in Fairhaven. Mr. Rowland was 
the last to abandon the manufacture in this vicinity. Re retired tVom 
the oil business eight or ten years ago. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. l8l 



Near!}' all of the sperm oil taken is refined here, and in round 
numbers fifteen thousand barrels of sperm, twelve thousand barrels 
of whale, and eight thousand barrels of fish oil are refined in New 
Bedford annually. 

The factoiy of George Delano's Sons, on South street, is the 
largest grease oil refinery in the world. The buildings cover nearly 
two acres of land and in the busy season forty-five men are employed. 
The individual members of the firm are Stephen C. L. and James 
Delano, who succeeded the firm at the head of which was their father, 
m 1884. George Delano entered the employ of Charles H. Leonard 
in 1855, and took the business January i, 1869. The New York 
office of the firm is at 140 Front street, in a building which the 
various firms that have operated the works have occupied since 
1850. 

The company manufactures sperm, whale, sea elephant, fish, 
and cotton seed oils, patent and paraffine wax candles, spermaceti, 
whale and fish oil pressings, and sperm and whale oil soap. All 
crude oils are worked out to definite results at the factor}' and the 
product is shipped to every part of the world. 

As this is a representative factory, it will not be out of place to 
tell briefly of the processes to which the oils are subjected. 

The crude oils as they are landed in casks from our whaleships 
are a thick, dirty brown in color. The quality is determined by the 
appearance and by tasting, and the buyers become very expert in 
their judgment. 

The products of sperm oil are the winter sperm, which is the first 
running from the crude oil after it has granulated, the spring sperm, 
the summer sperm, the taut pressed, which leaves the unrefined 
sperm, and finally spermaceti, with a melt test of one hundred fifteen 
degrees Fahrenheit. The sperm oil is not sold in its natural color, 
however, but is half bleached by a process which leaves sperm oil 
soap as a product. 

The product of the whale and other heavy oils, such as sea ele- 
phant, fish, and cotton seed, are the winter, spring, and summer 
pressings, which leave stearine. This latter product has the con- 
sistency of tallow. Soaps are made from all of these oils in the 
bleaching process. 

The sperm oil is largely used for oiling machinery, although it is 
usually compounded with cheaper oils before it can be used for this 



I02 NEW BEDFORD. 



purpose. It was formerly used for burning in lighthouses, and up to 
i860 the works held a contract to supply the entire lighthouse system 
of the United States. The whale oil is used for illuminating pur- 
poses. A vast quantity is consumed in engine headlights, being com- 
bined with the hydro-carbon oils. Considerable fish oil is used for 
burning in mines. Large quantities of the soap are shipped to Cali- 
fornia, Florida, and other fruit growing sections, where it is employed 
in washing orange and other trees to protect them from the ravages 
of insects, and acts as a fertilizer. 

The stearine is used in large quantities by the mills, where it is 
used as sizing for yarns, and much of it is exported for smearing sheep 
before shearing the wool. It is also used in making the better grades 
of soap, as filling for leather, and in oleomargarine to some extent. 

When the sperm oil is brought from the wharves to the works, 
it is turned into deck tanks, with a capacity of six hundred gallons 
each, and from here it is pumped into the bleaching tanks. There 
are three of these, the largest having a capacity of five thousand gal- 
lons, and two others with a capacity of thirty-one hundred gallons 
each. Within these tanks are coils of steam pipes and the oil is 
boiled with a soda lye. The sediment which precipitates to the bottom 
is drawn oft' and manufactured into soap. 

The oil is then drawn off* and placed in barrels. These barrels 
of oil are then placed in the pits and are put under ice. The "pits" 
are, in reality, a huge ice chest, with a capacity for holding one thou- 
sand barrels. As much as thirty tons of ice are often used in a single 
day, and the barrels remain here for about ten days, until the oil 
freezes. The product, after the pressings, is the virgin winter oil, 
which runs limpid at a temperature ranging as low as twenty-eight 
degrees below zero. In the coldest weather the oil is sometimes placed 
out of doors where the cold atmosphere effects the same results as if 
the oil were placed in the pits. 

After the first pressing, the sperm is again placed in hempen bags 
and in the spring it is subjected to another pressing. The product is 
the spring oil. In the summer, when the sperm has become dryer 
3'et, it is again subjected to hydraulic pressure, and the result is a thin 
oil known as the summer oil. 

After the oil has been removed by repeated pressings, the sperm 
is boiled with an alkaline lye, washed with water and moulded into 
blocks, which are in appearance as white and lustrous as alabaster. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 185 

On splitting these blocks, crystallized surfaces appear, resembling pure 
quartz. 

From these blocks the candles are moulded. The wicks are 
adjusted by hand, and the candles are the best in use. Coloring mat- 
ter is introduced, in so small a quantity, however, as not to destroy 
their beautiful transparency. Gamboge gives them a yellow tint, car- 
mine a red, and Prussian blue is used to produce the blue color. 
Very many paraffine wax candles are made at this factory, but the 
paraffine wax, being a hydro-carbon product, is purchased. The can- 
dles made here range in size from those so small that it requires 
twelve to a pound, to single candles two pounds in weight. Between 
five hundred thousand and six hundred thousand pounds of spermaceti 
and paralHne wax are made into candles every year. The candles are 
made in machines and are cooled b}- water. Most of the parafline 
wax candles are made in the winter, owing to the length of time 
required for them to cool in the summer. 

The whale, fish, and other heavy oil processes are somewhat 
different. After the oil comes from the pits it is run through flannel 
strainers. The toots which remain are then subjected to repeated 
pressings and require bleaching by the alkaline process before they 
are marketable. The stearine from whale oil is very white and hand- 
some. That trom the menhaden oil is darker. 

x\ll of the oil is finally sun bleached, and under the glass roofs 
there are eight tanks with a capacity of fifteen hundred gallons each, 
seven tanks with a capacity of twelve hundred gallons each, and three 
tanks with a capacity of eighteen hundred gallons each. The fish 
oil is refined by a patent process at these works and is rendered very 
white and handsome, although, of course, it is more gummy than the 
sperm. 

A cooper shop is connected with the establishment, and the works 
are provided with every modern improvement in the way of pumps, 
presses, and other machinery. 

The reputation of the works is the best. No gallon of oil ever 
went out of the works which was not strictlx* pure and the firm points 
with pride to the fact that its oldest customers, in sending in their 
orders, never trouble themselves to specify that the oil shall be v'pure," 
knowing that no adulterated oils are ever sent out tVom this establish- 
ment. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 187 

About three years ago the firm of Swan & Fmch, No. 151 
Maiden Lane, New York, leased the extensive oil works of Hastings 
& Co., at the foot of Grinnell street, having an area of five and 
one-half acres. This firm is the largest manufacturer of fish oil in 
the country and the refinery here is used for this purpose. About a 
dozen men are employed and Frank Corey is the local manager. The 
firm also has factories at Brooklyn and New York city, and has facil- 
ities here for refining whale and sperm oil. 

William A. Robinson & Co. are among the largest refiners of 
sperm and whale oil in the country. This firm was established in 
Rhode Island in 1829, transferring its business to this city in 1853, 
when a factory was occupied on the site of the present passenger 
station of the Old Colony railroad. In 1863 the firm moved to the 
factory it now occupies, No. 50 South Water street. The main build- 
ing is two stories high, with a frontage of forty feet on Water street. 
It is connected with smaller buildings of brick and stone, extending 
through lo Front street, a distance of two hundred tbrty feet. There 
are large siieds for storing oil on Walnut street, south of the factory 
buildings. The buildings are lighted by gas and heated by steam, 
and employment is given to fifteen or twenty hands. The manufac- 
ture and sale of sperm and whale oils and their products is the prin- 
cipal business in this city, although the firm deals largely in other 
oils. The Providence house handles potato, wheat, and corn starch, 
lard, olive, paraffine, and kerosene oils. 

The oil and candle manufactory of George S. Homer was estab- 
lished about the year 1850, and in 1857 the firm of S. Thomas & Co. 
was formed. Ten years later Mr. Homer succeeded to the business, 
as surviving partner. The buildings, with sheds, occupy an area of 
one and one-half acres and are located on Front, South, and Pros- 
pect streets. The factory comprises two main buildings, one hundred 
twenty-five by forty-five and seventy-five by forty -five feet, respect- 
ively, containing pits, vats, cisterns, kettles, strainers, and hydraulic 
presses. There is a boiler house with a boiler of fifty horse power, a 
cooperage for repairing casks and barrels, with a room above for 
moulding candles and preparing the spermaceti of commerce. Sev- 
enteen hands are employed and the reputation of the factory ranks 
with the best. In the year 1888 there were manufactured on the 
premises five thousand barrels of crude sperm oil, seven thousand 
barrels of crude whale oil, and a quantity of blackfish, menhaden, 
and other oils. 



NEW BEDFORD. 



William F. Nye is the largest manufacturer of sewing machine 
and watch and clock oils in the world. His factories are on Fish 
island and are surrounded on three sides by wharves. Mr. Nye com- 
menced the manufacture of lubricating oils in 1844, at Fairhaven, on 
a small scale, and afterwards carried on the business at the foot of 
Walnut street in this city. In 1877 he purchased the large stone 
factory on Fish Island and has since erected several large buildings. 
The old factory is of stone, three stories high, and about ninety by 
fortv feet in area. Subsequently a factory of wood and stone, three 
stories high and fifty-five by sixty feet in area, was built, and a two story 
building of stone, about fifty by fifty leet in area. About one hundred 
fifty thousand gallons of sewing machine, watch, and clock oils are 
disposed of annually and in addition to the oil shipped in bulk, over 
two million one hundred fifty thousand bottles of various sizes are 
filled and sold each year. 

The processes are simple, but the best of stock and the greatest 
care and honesty were necessary to earn the reputation which Mr. 
Nye holds. Wherever sewing machines, watches, or clocks are made 
Mr. Nye's oils are known. He supplies large quantities to the 
Waltham, Elgin, and other celebrated companies in this countr}' and 
Switzerland, and the famous cathedral clock at Strasburg is lubricated 
with oil made at this factory. 

Sewing machine oil is a mixture of sperm oil and bone-filtered 
petroleum. It is landed on Mr. Nye's wharves in barrels and is 
placed in wells. From here it passes into standpipes, where it is 
agitated and thoroughly mixed by air blasts. In this process the 
lighter gases pass awav. There are three of these standpipes, each 
having a capacity of one hundred fifty barrels. After agitation the 
oil becomes white and is left sixty days to settle. Then a Worthing- 
ton duplex steam pump forces the oil into distributing tanks in the 
attic. A filler, patented by Joseph K. Nye, a son of the proprietor, 
is used here and with it a gross of bottles can be filled in one minute. 
The bottling rooms are very complete. After washing, the bottles are 
placed in a drving room where the mercury stands at two hundred 
degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to the fillers, a corking machine, 
invented by Mr. Nye, is used. 

The watch, chronometer, and clock oil is composed of porpoise 
jaw and blackfish head oil. Several years ago an unparalleled school 
of blackfish appeared on the coast of Massachusetts and twenty-two 



190 NEW BEDFORD. 



hundred of these monster fish were driven into inlets and bayous, 
where the receding tide left them an easy prey. The entire catch was 
secured by Mr. N3'e, ensuring a supply of oil which will last many 
years. The process of refining these oils for watches and clocks 
requires about two years. 

Recently Mr. Nye has established a refinery at St. Albans, Vt., 
and the oil passes through the processes with the temperature thirty- 
five degrees below zero. By this means the oil is freed from all 
impurities that corrode and blacken the pivots of a watch and it is 
perfectly unaffected by heat or cold. It is much whiter than oil re- 
fined in these latitudes. 

The oil is strained through strainers of cotton flannel and is then 
placed in tubes, where it stands for about eighteen months. These 
tubes, or tanks, are kept in a fire proof vault, and fine watch and clock 
oil to the value of ten thousand dollars is stored here, in forty tanks, 
each with a capacity of about fifty-five gallons. 

Although less than half a drop of oil is used on a single watch, 
some watch manufacturers order this valuable lubricator by the barrel. 
Large quantities of the oil are also used on type writing machines. 

When the writer called at Mr. Nye's factory, he had stored on 
one floor one hundred tons of empty bottles, constituting four or five 
months' supply, and twelve thousand empty boxes. 

The factory is well arranged, being supplied with hoisting engines 
and steam elevators. There is also apparatus for refining heavy oils 
and Mr. Nye does something in this line, besides doing a jobbing 
business in all lubricating oils. 

Mr. Nye has recently commenced the manufacture of an oleo- 
tannatine compound, which is a leather preserver and a softener and 
cleaner for harnesses. He also makes shoe dressings and edge 
blacking. 

About twenty-two hands are employed at the factory. 

The Ezra Kelley famous chronometer, watch, and clock oils are 
manufactured at Mount Pleasant. These oils are used in the watch 
and clock factories of the world and the sales now aggregate six 
hundred gross per year. About three hundred fifty gallons of crude 
stock are required for a year's supply. Mr. Kelley is now in the ninety- 
first year of his age and has manufactured his celebrated oils for the 
past sixty-two years. He was the first to apply fish oils for the lubri- 
cation of clock machinery. Mr. Kelley was born in Dennis, Mass., 



iii^^ 



• l^W ^'IrV -/v^ ■ 



h .i' 



i,)fV4.v.> 



;<i 









s l^^^-v '■;, , 







I'' /'If'; 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL 



193 



in 1798 and came to this city in 1818 and engaged in the manufacture 
of clocks. At this time nut oils were used exclusively, here and 
abroad, in clocks and watches. Mr. Kelle}' experimented with the 
oil of the porpoise and finally succeeded in producing a lubricator for 
light bearings which was unsurpassed at that time. When the man- 
ufacture ol" clocks by machinery commenced, Mr. Kelley abandoned 
his trade and started for New York with a little case of bottles and 
commenced the introduction of his now celebrated oils. Their superi- 
ority was quickly recognized. His market grew until it now includes 
the entire civilized world, and the manufacturer lias crossed the ocean 
ten times, taking large orders from the leading factories in England, 
France, Germany, and Switzerland. Wherever exhibited, these oils 
have received first-class awards and among them are a diploma given 
at the Geneva exhibition in 1880 and a diploma and medal awarded 
by the judges at the centennial exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. 
The proposals for chronometer and clock oils issued by the govern- 
ment last year specified that Kelley's oil alone should be supplied. 
About the year 1850 Mr. Kelley commenced the manufacture of his 
superfine oils from the head and melon of the blackfish. Much of 
the latter oil used by Mr. Kelley is taken from fish captured on the 
coast of Africa, and this grade is superior for lighter bearings, having 
less body than the oils taken from the fish captured in local waters. 
The difference is presumed to be caused by the food which the deep sea 
fish consume. John Wing, a son-in-law of the manufacturer, now 
conducts the business for Mr. Kelley. The agents lor these oils are 
Henr}^ Grinnell & Co., 31 Maiden Lane, New York, and Grimshaw 
& Baxter, 35 Goswell road, London, Eng. 

ART INDUSTRIES. 

Possibl}' it may be a surprise to most readers of this book to learn 
that New Bedford is the home of manifold and varied art industries, 
employing many skilled artisans and producing thousands of objects 
of beauty. 

The firm of Charles Taber & Co. was the pioneer in the indus- 
try of art manufacturing in tiiis country. Today it is the largest 
industry of its kind, the annual product aggregating nearly a half 
million dollars in value. In the busy season about three hundred 



194 



NEW BEDFORD. 



fifty hands are employed and goods are shipped to every part of the 
world. 

The business of the firm dates back nearly to the beginniniyr of 
the century. William C. Taber, the father of the present senior 
member of the firm, early in life became a partner with Abraham 
Sherman, Jr., in the book business at the northeast corner of Union 
and Water streets. This partnership was dissolved about the year 
1835, when Mr. Taber conducted the business alone for a time. In 
1843 Charles Taber, a son, who had that year attained his majority, 
was admitted as a partner. Soon after, the firm opened a store at No. 
6 Purchase street, and about the year 1849, the father having retired, 
Charles and his brother Augustus carried on the business at the cor- 
ner of Union and Purchase streets. Then the firm of Charles Taber 
& Co. was established and there has been a firm of Charles Taber 
& Co. ever since. The business at this time included the sale of 
books, engravings, and charts, many of which were imported from 
abroad by the firm. Upon the withdrawal of Augustus, Charles took 
as partners Abraham Taber and Asa C. Peirce, and, still later, William 
C. Taber, Jr. In 1861 the store on the corner was given up and the 
firm moved to No. 47 Purchase street, in the then new Cummings 
building, and the next year the brothers Abraham and William C. 
Taber, Jr., took the two book and stationery stores, and Charles, 
with Asa C. Peirce, started as manufacturing photographers at No. 6 
North Water street. This last firm continued until about 1871, when 
Charles Taber assumed and continued the sole management until 
1881. Then he took as partners his brother, William C. Taber, Jr., 
and his sons, Charles M. and Frederic. Charles Taber died in 1887 
and the firm now comprises the three latter gentlemen. 

In the twenty-three years since the business of manufacturing 
photographs began, the modest enterprise has grown to huge propor- 
tions, not only keeping pace with the growth of photography, but 
adding to itself other branches of decorative art. Gradually the sta- 
tionery business in the old Union street store was crowded out by the 
needs of the thriving trade in the works of art. The old buildings 
on the corner were swarming with working men and women and new 
hives were bought or built and quickly filled. At present the firm 
occupies five buildings : the three story building of brick and stone 
at the northwest corner of Union and Water streets ; most of the 
two story building on Water street, next north ; the three story build- 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 197 



ing on the northeast corner of Union and Water streets ; the large 
wooden building next east, which, by the way, was occupied by the 
present senior proprietor's great grandfather as a dwelling as far 
back as 1763 ; and tlie three story wooden building on the south side 
of Spring street, extending from Water to First streets. Roughly 
estimated, the workshops of the firm occupy fifty thousand square 
feet of area. 

On the lower floor of the building on the northwest corner of 
Union and Water streets the office is located and here is the stock 
room in which the various styles of artotypes are kept. On the 
upper floors are studios where photographs are colored and pastels 
are executed. The sample and store rooms are in the building next 
north. In the building on the opposite corner photographs are made 
and mounted, artotypes are printed, frames are put together with 
mats, holiday goods are made up, and picture framing is done. The 
building at the corner of Water and Spring streets is entirely given 
up to the manufacture of picture frames and mouldings. 

The art business of the firm commenced with the manufacture of 
ambrotypes, and the vast industry now carried on was probably the 
result of an incident which happened about the year i860. Among 
the engravings on sale at the store on the corner of Union and Pur- 
chase streets was one of Elizabeth Fry, the English philanthropist. 
It was an imported picture and the copies were quickly sold. 
Charles Taber was a member of the society of Friends and he 
greatly admired the beautiful face of the good woman. These were 
the days of ambrotypes, which were photographs on glass. They 
were very beautiful and compare favorably in point of attractiveness 
with the photographs of today. Mr. Taber conceived the idea of 
reproducing the engraving by this process and, as an experiment, 
sent the picture to an ambrotype saloon. The result was successful 
and Mr. Taber framed it with the intention of hanging it in his own 
home. It was left in the store for a few days and excited much 
admiration. Several persons who saw the portrait desired copies, 
and they were furnished. Subsequently Mr. Taber successfully 
repeated the experiment with a Landseer, and finally the reproduc- 
tions became recoirnized as a legitimate branch of the art business 
and the firm commenced the manufacture of ambrotypes. The pho- 
tograph of the face of Elizabeth Fry was the first reproduction of an 
engraving which was ever put on the market. 



198 NEW BEDFORD. 



This branch of art manufaciure led to the importation and finally 
to the manufacture of passepartouts. These are frames of glass, 
with a pasteboard backing and paper binding. This, in turn, led to 
the manufacture of frames, and the next natural step to the production 
of ambrotypes was photographs. About six years ago the firm first 
commenced the manutacture of artotype engravings and etchings, 
and in this department their productions are recognized as the stand- 
ard, dealers willingly paying much more for artotypes from this 
establishment than they will pay for the same reproductions from 
other t'actories. The artotypes of this firm exactly reproduce the 
finest engravings and etchings and it requires a close inspection from 
the connoisseur to detect them from the'original proofs, and they are 
equally permanent. The superiority of the artot3^pes of Charles 
Taber & Co. lies in the fact that while other firms have sought to 
reduce the expense of production, this firm has stood ready to make 
any expenditure which would tend to improve the artistic value of the 
work. The ink used is imported and is the same as that used for steel 
engravings, while the plate paper is made expressly for this pur- 
pose. They excel in the clean lines, the tones, and general artistic 
eftect and character. Eighteen printers are employed, nearly all of 
whom came from abroad. About eight hundred subjects are kept 
in stock. Artotypes are printed, or "pulled," as the technical phrase 
is, from gelatine plates prepared by the process discovered and 
patented by Obernetter of Munich. A description of this process can- 
not fail to be interesting. 

In commencing, we have a sheet of thick plate glass which is 
designed for a printing block. The glass is cleansed and is then ready 
to receive the preliminary coating, which is a solution prepared of 
soluble glass, the white of eggs, and water. The mixture is applied 
to the glass as evenly as possible and the film dried and then rinsed 
with water. The second stage of the process is the application of a 
film of bichromated gelatine to the plate, after which the glass is 
put into the drying chamber. The object to be attained is a fine 
grain throughout the surface of the gelatine, and unless this surface 
is satisfactory, the printing block will never be. If the gelatine is 
too thick, the grain will be coarse ; or if the temperature in drying 
is too high, there will be no grain. The drying is completed in half 
an hour, when the film is ready for printing under a negative, and this 
is done in an ordinary printing frame. The exposure is very rapid 




N. P. HAYES HARDWARE STORE, 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 20I 



and here the judgment of the photographer is brought into play. 
The impression is taken from the pressure frame and put into cold 
water, where it remains a half hour or more, until the soluble bichro- 
mate is washed out. Then judgment is passed and the experienced 
eye can tell at once wdiat it is fit for. The washed and dried plate 
should appear like a design of ground and polished glass. A vellow 
tint means that it will take up too much ink when the roller is passed 
over it. The appearance of ground glass is given by the grain. If 
there are pure lights (almost transparent) and opalescent shadows, 
the plate is a good one. 

After moistening in glycerine and water the printing block is 
ready for the press. The inking and printing are done very much as 
in lithography. To appreciate how skillful a printer must be it is only 
necessary to see the imperfect proofs that first result and then watch 
how these are gradually improved by rolling, rubbing, etching, and 
cleaning. 

After the plate is put on the press a moist sponge is first rubbed 
over the surface and the plate is then rolled with a soft wash-leather 
roller, to remove surplus moisture. The ink rollers, which are made 
of glue composition, are now applied, and two inks, a thick and thin. 
The thick is first put on and the roller is passed over the plate. Then 
another roller charged with thin ink is applied in the same manner. 
A sheet of paper is now laid on the plate, the tympan of the press is 
lowered, the scraper is adjusted, and a revolution of the wheel com- 
pletes the printing. The copies then undergo another impression, 
when an India tint and border and engraved titles are printed. In 
some factories the titles are printed from type, but at this establish- 
ment all titles are printed on a lithographic press from engraved 
stones. 

The superintendent of the photographic and artotype depart- 
ments is Joseph G. Tirrell, who has been in the employ of the tirm 
twenty-seven years. 

The plain and colored photographs made by this firm are the 
best photographic reproductions made in this country. The number 
of subjects reaches thousands. The establishment also turns out 
an exquisite line of glace photograph panels, medallion photographs, 
photogravure etchings on satin, window transparencies, stereoscopic 
views, art souvenirs, consisting of cabinet photographs from tiie most 
popular pictures, mounted on plate paper and enclosed in covers fast- 



202 



NEW BEDFORD. 



ened by ribbons, art folios, and pastel drawings. Their Easter, 
Christmas, and New Year's cards and books are always among the 
handsomest and most original in the market and skilled artists are 
constantly engaged in getting up new designs. 

The trame factory at the corner of Water and Spring streets is 
also an interesting place to visit. The firm calculates to keep ahead 
of their competitors in this branch of art manufacture and the fact 
that their designs are imitated everywhere is a species of flattery, 
even though it may afford only a grim sort of satisfaction. The 
company buys the plain moulding but it is ornamented at the factory. 
New styles are constant]}' demanded. A few years ago plush and 
velvet frames were the rage. Now the demand is for wooden frames, 
and the company has in stock three hundred fift}' styles of cabinet 
frames, while about two hundred new styles of ornamented moulding 
are turned out annually. The average reader may not know that 
the ornamentation on the familiar gilt and other frames is a compo- 
sition made of glue, whiting, and other materials, which is afiixed to 
the wooden moulding. This composition resembles putty in appear- 
ance and is turned through moulds on which the designs are cut. 
Some of the ornaments are hand moulded. The cost of the origi- 
nal patterns is considerable and an idea of the magnitude of the 
business done in the frame department of this establishment may be 
learned from the tact that fifty tons of composition were used last year. 
Frames are made of gold, oxidized, bronze, ivory, and natural wood 
mouldings. The ivory moulding was originated at this factory, and 
when combined with gold the result is very lovely. Recentlv an 
imitation whale's tooth was made as an experiment and it will defy 
detection. Imitation ivory paper weights are among the novelties 
recently put upon the market. 

The firm employs four travelling salesmen and maintains a sales- 
room at No. 28 Bond street, New York city. 

There are but two 
larger manufactories of 
silver plated ware in this 
countiT than that of the 
Pairpoint Manufacturing 
Company, located on the 
east side of Prospect street, south of Rowland street, and the ware 
has no superior in the American or European market. The stock is 




INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



203 




of the best, possessing all the elements of real silver and beauty, 

finish, elegance, and grace of form, and the product is in a style con- 
forming to the highest rules of art. 
The company manufactures all 
varieties of useful and ornamental 
household goods in great variety, 
including knives, forks, spoons, 
cake baskets, and an almost end- 
less variety of table ware, hat, 
hair, clothes, and crumb brushes, 
candlesticks, casters, card receiv- 
ers, communion ware, ice pitcher 
sets, epergnes, jewel, cigar, and 
cigarette cases, wine coolers, ash 
receivers, match safes, etc., etc. 

The company organized in 

1880 with Edward D. Mandell as 

president, Alexander H. Seabury 

as treasurer, and T. J. Pairpoint, 

superintendent. The capital stock was originally $100,000, but in 

July, 1887. it was increased to $400,000, at which point it now stands, 

nearly the entire amount being held in New Bedford. 

In the spring of 1880, the first building was erected. It was of 

brick, one hundred twenty by forty feet in area and three stories high. 

In 1881 a second building was added. This was of wood, three stories 

high, and one hundred twenty by thirty feet in area, and, finally, the 

following year, a four story brick building was erected, one hundred 

fifty by forty feet in area, so that 

the area of the workshops is nearly 

fifty thousand square feet. The 

company has a branch store at the 

corner of Maiden lane and Liberty 

place. New York city, established in 

June, 1881 ; a store at the corner of 

Wabash avenue and Washington 

street, Chicago, established in 1882 ; 

and a San Francisco store at No. 220 Sutter street, established in 1887. 
T. J. Pairpoint resigned as superintendent, April i, 1885, and 

he was succeeded by Thomas A. Tripp. Mr. Seabury resigned as 




204 



NEW BEDFORD. 




treasurer in the following May, and Mr. Tripp succeeded him also. 
The present officers are : 

President — Edward D. Man- 
dell. 
' ^^^^^SiP^^**^^SSi^^ i^^P^ Treasurer and general man- 

ager — Thomas x\. Tripp. 

Directors — Edward D. Man- 
dell, William J. Rotch, William 
Baylies, Wendell H. Cobb, and 
Capt. William Lewis, of New Bedford, and John A. Brown, of Prov- 
idence. 

The company employs about three hundred hands in the factory 
and nine salesmen travelling in different parts of the country. It has 
a large export trade, many goods being shipped as far as Australia. 
Nearly all the men are skilled mechanics, and it is estimated that two 
hundred young men from the schools of New Bedford have learned 
trades in this factory and become proficient workmen, many of them 
now having charge of departments. 

The details of the manufacture are so varied that they cannot be 
described intelligently in a brief article. Britannia is the base of 
most of the ware and this alloy is composed of tin, copper, antimony, 
and zinc. It is mixed and made on the premises and cast into ingots, 
after which it is rolled into sheets. These sheets are then pressed 
into blanks or bowls of various sizes, from whence they go to the 
spinning room. Here the blanks are placed on wooden moulds 
and spun into the desired form. These forms are embossed or 
stamped with designs, a hydraulic press, with a pressure of six hun- 
dred sixty-three tons, being employed for this purpose. The patterns 
are designed by skilled artists and cut on steel dies, many of which 
represent weeks of patient labor. These dies tbrm an expensive 
stock, their value ranging from $50 to $500 each. Every ornament 
employed on a piece of silver ware must first be moulded in wax. A 
mould of plaster of paris is made from this and finall}' a mould of 
brass is made. The britannia metal is poured into these moulds and 
is quickly turned out again, leaving the inside of the moulded 
handles and ornaments hollow. 

It will be seen that a long time is consumed in making moulds 
and dies for the various articles manufactured, and workmen were 
employed nearly a year before even a limited variety of styles was 
put on the market. 



2o6 



NEW BEDFORD. 




Next the various parts are soldered together and are submitted to 
various processes of cleaning. Then the articles go into the plating 

vats, where a deposit of silver is 
placed upon them from a solution of 
the cyanide of the metal, through 
which a current of electricity passes. 
Parts of many articles are further 
ornamented by gold plating or oxi- 
dizing by a chemical process. 

Finally the articles are burn- 
ished. Some parts are burnished 
^^ by machinery, while others are hand 

burnished. The satin finish, which is very popular, is executed by 
means of a wire brush, constructed by a patented process. It nicks 
or scratches the polished surface, producing a frosted effect. 

There are many other processes which the article must undergo 
before completion, which are not named here. Many of the designs 
are engraved by hand instead of being stamped. 

The firm also manufactures ware from German silver. This metal 
is much harder to work than britannia and the process is materially 
different. It is in favor at hotels and on railroad and steamboat lines, 
where the ware is likely to receive rough usage. 

Most of the knives, forks, and spoons are made from German 
silver. The blanks are first cut and afterwards rolled by machine. 
In this process they become so hard that it is necessar}' to anneal them 
in a furnace. Then they are formed and the designs are stamped 
upon them. They are polished on wheels of walrus leather costing 
two dollars a pound, and are hand burnished after plating. 

An idea of the expense and risk of manufacture may be gained 
from the fact that every new design of knife, fork, and spoon placed 
on the market represents an expenditure of several thousand dollars. 
A one hundred horse power steam engine is employed and there 
is a fire pump on the premises with a capacity for 
pumping five hundred gallons per minute. 

The company owns an extensive wharf prop- 
erty. 

A great deal of fancy glass ware is employed and 
many articles of rare beauty are displayed in the show rooms, includ- 
ing the largest epergne in the world. The plush boxes used for 





WING BUILDING. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



209 



fancy ware are made at the factory. An idea of the variety of articles 
manufactured may be gained from the fact that the various cuts illus- 
trating the catalogues of the company represent an expendfture of at 
least ten thousand dollars. 

One of the most interesting of the industries of the city is carried 
on at the Mount Washington Glass Works, in some respects the most 
notable glass factory in the world. It is here that the beautiful and 
celebrated Burmese ware was discovered, which, with several other 
novelties in glass, is exclusively controlled by this establishment. 
Here also is made a variety of cut and art glass ware which has 
made the factory's fame for the production of the finest goods as 
wide as the world. 

The business of the Mount Washington Glass Company was 
brought to this city in the year 1869. It was originally started in 
1837 ^t a factory built by Deming Jarves, then agent of the Boston 
& Sandwich Glass Company. The original factory vvas located in 
South Boston, the business being conducted by Capt. Russell. In 
1839 t^''^ business reverted to George D. Jarves and was carried on 
by him, with Mr. Labree at first, and later with Henry Comerais 
under the firm name of Jarves & Comerais. This firm greatly in- 
creased the facilities of the factory by building new furnaces. In 
i860, however, they closed the business, and subsequently the factory 
was hired by Timothy Howe, who proved a most energetic manager. 
He was joined by W. L. Libbey and a most successful business was 
carried on. On the death of Mr. Howe, in 1866, his interest was 
purchased by Mr. Libbey, but in 1869, as the old factory had be- 
come dilapidated, he purchased the present works on Prospect street, 
in this city, which had been built by the New Bedford Glass Com- 
pany. This latter company had but a short existence, owing to 
financial difficulties. 

The factory was designed by a practical glass maker and is one 
of the most substantial and complete in the country. It was erected 
in 1861, and comprises a commodious glass house with a ten pot fur- 
nace and an extensive water frontage for landing supplies and the 
shipment of goods. On the first floor are well arranged annealing 
kilns, selecting room, mould room, and office. On the second floor 
is a large machine shop and cutting shop, and on the third floor are 
the stock and chandelier rooms. On the basement floor are the 
mixing, packing, and engine rooms, and carpenter shop. There 
are two elevators, one for light and the other for heavy goods. 



2IO 



NEW BEDFORD. 




Outside the main factory are several other commodious build- 
ings, one, three stories in height, being occupied as a decorating 

shop. This building is provided with 
all the necessary adjuncts for this part 
of the work, including three large 
kilns for firing the ware. 

There is a cooper shop, all pack- 
ages for goods being made on the 
premises ; a large storage building 
for packed goods, also clay and pot 
rooms, a blacksmith shop, and boiler 
house. The company's stables are 
on an adjacent lot. 
After being transferred to this city the business was conducted 
under its original name of the Mount Washington Glass Works. 
Soon the increase of business called for more capital and Capt. 
Henry Libbey became associated with the business, the firm name 
being W. L. Libbey & Co. In 187 1 a stock company was formed, 
named the Mount Washington Glass Company, with a capital of 
$100,000, which was afterwards increased to $150,000. W. L. 
Libbey was appointed agent and Capt. Henry Libbey, superin- 
tendent. 

In 1872 W. L. Libbey resigned to accept the agency of the 
New England Glass Company and the management devolved on 
Capt. Libbey. The business of the company was widely spread, 
but in the general depression in 1873 the shrinkages impaired the 
company's capital. Capt. Libbey re- 
signed in 1874 '^^^ ^^^ factory was 
closed. 

In the fall of the same year the 
company resumed business, and the 
management was placed in the hands 
of the present agent, Frederick S. 
Shirley, with Robert G. Tobev as 
treasurer, and Robert King, glass 
house manager, A. H. Seabury acting 
as president. The company was re- 
organized in 1876, since which time it has worked continuously. 
In 1881 the facilities of the factory were increased by the 




212 NEW BEDFORD. 



erection of an additional glass house on the south, provided with an 
eight pot furnace. 

The late A. H. Seabury was president of the company until his 
death, July 17, 1887, when he was succeeded by tlon. William 
J. Rotch. Andrew Snow, Jr., who has grown up in the business, 
was elected treasurer, and has taken an active part in the manage- 
ment of the business. 

This is briefly the history of the enterprise. 

No glass factory in the world produces a greater variety of fine 
work. The specialties include opal globes, shades for electric and 
gas lights and lamps, also fine blown goods. Some of the richest 
cut glass ware is turned out here and this is the only factory in the 
country where crystal chandeliers are made complete. The factory 
also produces a line of decorated lamps and vases of the finest 
grades, as well as art glass ware. The lovely Burmese ware met 
with such success as to attract the patronage of royalty and the 
company was recently favored with a special order from Her Majesty 
Queen Victoria. The productions of the company are widely known 
and are in good demand. 

The writer was recently shown over the factory. The first stage 
of the manufacture is to be witnessed in the basement, where the 
ingredients of the glass are mixed in a large trough. Silica or sand 
is its principal element and that used here is from the Berkshire mines. 
It is very white and fine. The silicic acid, or silica, combines with 
potash, soda, oxide of lead, alumina, lime, and other substances that 
may be added to produce silicates of these bases, which are classed 
by the manufacturer as fluxes. Waste glass forms a considerable 
proportion of the raw material, promoting the fusion and the chemi- 
cal union of the silica and the bases mixed with it. 

The main stock contains ten pots, and the furnace in which they 
rest is twenty-two feet in diameter. The coal is fed through a flume 
and five tons of coal are consumed every twenty-four hours. By an 
arrangement of the draughts, the heat becomes most intense, the 
flame being heated to incandescence. These fires are seldom al- 
lowed to go out, as the pots would crack, rendering the operation 
expensive. The present fire at the Mt. Washington works has 
burned continuously for four years. Previous to this time it had not 
been out during eight years. The nose holes in the furnace bear 
the suggestive name of " glory holes." 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



213 




There is also another furnace for reheating the glass at different 
stages of its manufacture. Oil is used in this furnace and the heat 
is intensified by the use of a super-heated steam blast. 

The melting pots are made of cla3S and in order that they may 
withstand the excessive heat and the action of the various melted 

ingredients, their construction is an 
object of special solicitude. The 
material used at these works is the 
Stourbridge fire clay, which comes 
from England. Missouri clay is 
also used to some extent. It is first 
carefully trod by barefoot men, 
until it is prepared for moulding. The average pot is about four feet 
high and four feet in diameter at the top and somewhat smaller at 
the bottom. It holds about a ton of glass. The pot is built entirely 
by hand, and only a small part is constructed each day. When a 
few inches of the walls are built up, cloths are placed over the fresh 
clay and the moisture is thus absorbed. The top of the pot is made 
in the form of a hood, with a small opening near the top correspond- 
ing with the nose hole of the furnace, and from which the workman 
withdraws the melted glass. The life of these pots varies from a few 
weeks to six or even eight months. Sometimes they crack and 
sometimes the action of the glass ingredients eats a hole through the 
clay where an imperfect stratum exists. These leaks are detected as 
the glass runs out through the grating of the furnace underneath. 
When the leak is in front of the pot, a part of the setting is some- 
times torn away and a blast of cold air is allowed to strike the pot. 
The glass in the crack hardens and the leak is thus permanently 
stopped. This is called "concaving" a pot. Usually, however, as 
much of the glass is bailed out and saved as is possible, and new 
pots, which are kept in a lurnace in preparation, are substituted. 
When the glass is being bailed, great clouds of steam arise, and, 
condensing on the iron roof, it falls to the floor like a shower of rain. 
The ingredients of the glass are heated to a white heat and then 
the heat is raised as rapidly as possible. The contents of the pot are 
kept in a state of perfect fluidity for from ten to thirty hours, or until 
the bubbles disappear and the insoluble matters settle, when the fur- 
nace is allowed to cool until the metal has become viscid, wiien it can 
be taken out and worked. 



214 NEW BEDFORD. 



Work commences in the glass making department at i o'clock 
on Monda}' morning and the men are divided into two gangs. The 
gang which commences work at this hour works until 6 o'clock in 
the morning, then recommences work at i p. m. and continues work 
until 6 o'clock in the evening. The second gang works between the 
hours of 7 and i2 o'clock a. m. and p. m. These periods of work 
are called "moves" in the vernacular. The workmen are divided 
into gangs of four. There is the "gatherer," who takes the requisite 
amount of glass from the pots on the end of a blow pipe, the "sticker 
up," who reheats it, the "servitor," who does the preliminary work, 
preparing it for the "gaffer," who does the finishing. 

It is a singular fact that the tools employed have not changed for 
two hundred years or more. The first in importance is the blowing 
tube, which is of wrought iron, four or five feet in length, with a 
bore one quarter inch and diameter one inch. Tongs are exclusively 
employed to shape the various articles, and the most beautiful vases 
are made by the use of these. Puicellas are heavy tongs, some- 
times furnished with broad, blunt blades of wood, and these are 
principally used in forming the articles. The vessel in process of 
manufacture is frequently applied to the furnace opening to soften it. 

When completed, the articles are removed to the annealing oven, 
in which they are left to be tempered. This removes the quality of 
brittleness, exhibited by the familiar Prince Rupert's drops. The 
glass ware is moved along in the annealing ovens, through a con- 
stantly decreasing temperature, until it emerges into cold air. 
Some of the ware becomes annealed in twenty-four hours, but the 
nicest heavy glass, intended to stand the friction of the cutting 
wheels, is a week in passing through the ovens. 

It is not the purpose of this article to go into the interesting details 
of glass manufacture, but rather to allude to the peculiar work done 
at this factor}^. 

Formerly the company was engaged extensively in the manu- 
facture of lamp chimneys and pressed work, but it has now almost 
entirely abandoned these branches of the business to the western 
factories. 

The introduction of electric lighting has created a demand for 
a new line of goods. This company has a contract with the mana- 
gers of a prominent arc lighting system for furnishing all the globes 
used by them. About ten thousand of these globes are kept continu- 




SANDERS 5c BARROWS CLOTHING STORE. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 217 

ally -in stock and some weeks as many as five thousand are shipped 
to the plants controlled by the company. These globes are shipped 
to foreign lands, even as far as Australia and Egypt. It is interesting 
to think of shipping glass from New Bedford to the latter country, 
where the manufacture of glass was certainly practiced as long ago 
as three thousand years before Christ. The bulbs for Edison lamps 
are also blown here and the company makes one hundred fifty varie- 
ties of incandescent lighting shades. 

Amberina, or rose amber ware, which is a transparent and effect- 
ive combination of glass, shading from ruby to the most delicate 
amber tint, in which the popular optical and hammered etTects are 
produced, is made here, and the circumstances of its introduction on 
the market are interesting. When ruby glass, which, by the way, 
receives its coloring from an oxide of gold, comes from the pot, it is 
amber in color. In making red glass the articles were reheated, when 
the red color developed. It was the practice to reheat first one end 
of the vessel and then the other. When one end of the article was 
reheated the result was the ware now known as amberina, but in this 
state it was considered as unfinished. At length two companies, of 
which the Mount Washington was one, conceived the idea of trying 
the public with this variegated ware. It caught the popular fancy and 
was all the rage for about two years. The amount of gold used in 
the glass is indicated by the fact that the residuum in the bottom of 
the old pots in which this glass is made is carefully chipped ofi', and 
globules of gold are found precipitated, sometimes to the value of 
thirt}^ or forty dollars. 

The success of amberina suggested to F. S. Shirley, the agent 
of the works, that an opaque shaded ware would be a novelty. The 
introduction of Burmese ware opened a new era in glass making 
and created a sensation at once. Its loveliness is due to its translu- 
cency and blending tones of color, from a flesh pink to a yellow. 
It has been graphically described in an English journal as "the 
dawn of another day," which term aptly designates the roseate tints 
of color blending into each other. 

Mr. Shirley developed the pink shade with oxide of uranium, 
the price of which has advanced from four dollars to six dollars since 
Burmese ware was put on the market. He judged that a combina- 
tion with yellow glass would be most effective, and patented his dis- 
cover}^ in 1883. The glass is finished with either a glazed or plush 



2l8 NEW BEDFORD. 



finish, but the latter is most popular. This ware is now n?ianu- 
factured by only two factories in the world : the Mt. Washington 
Glass Company and by Thomas Webb & Sons, England, who are 
licensed under the former's patents. 

The following letters explain themselves : 

Balmoral, 8th September, 1886. 
Major Edwards presents his compliments to Mr. F. S. Shirley : 

He has been commanded to convey to him the Queen's thanks 
for the beautiful specimen of the ware of the Mt. Washington Glass 
Co., which he has been good enough to forward for Her Majesty's 
acceptance. And Princess Beatrice has also at the same time desired 
Major Edwards to express her sincere thanks for the very pretty 
vases Mr. Shirley has presented to her Royal Highness. 

Balmoral, 17th September, 1886. 

Dear Sir : 

I have to thank you for your telegram and was not aware you 
had left England. 

1 am commanded by the Queen to ask you to supply, on Her 
Majesty's account, the following articles, in similar ware to that 
recently presented to her : 

1. A tea set of the same description, but not necessarily of 
precisely the same pattern as that presented. 

2. Two pairs of vases, something similar to those presented to 
Princess Beatrice, but the two pairs might be slightly different. 

When ready, would you please forward them to Buckingham 
Palace, London? "Yours faithfully, F. Edwards. 

To F. Stagey Shirley. 

Sir Henry Ponsonby has to acknowledge the receipt of the arti- 
cles in glass 'which Mr. Shirley has forwarded to the Queen, and 
begs to say that Messrs. Drexel, Morgan & Co., of New York, have 
been instructed to pay £250 to Mr. Shirley for these articles. 

Sir H. Ponsonby is also commanded to convey to Mr. Shirley 
the expression of the Queen's thanks for the objects, which, as he 
intimates in his letter of the 8th December (addressed to Major 
Edwards), he has offered for Her Majesty's acceptance. 

January 13th, 1887, Privy Purse Office, 
Buckingham Palace, S. W., London, Eng. 

Four vases were also sent as a present to President Cleveland's 
bride, which were acknowledged in a letter from the president, who 
wrote, "They are highly prized as evidencing the kind consideration 
of the company, while they illustrate the perfection and excellence 
of its manufactures." 



INDUvSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 221 



The pearl satin ware is also made at the works and a patent has 
been granted to the company for the same. The pearl satin ware is 
blown into a mould provided with projecting points, bands, or other 
ornamental designs, so as to form depressions in the article so blown. 
The interior body is then dipped and covered in a shell of sensitive 
glass which seals or protects the air in the cavities. The article 
is then finished in any desired manner. This ware has a novel and 
lovely effect, the surface being finished in a lustreless, velvety skin. 

Cameo ware is also made here. This involves the process 
known as "casing." By this process articles, when partially blown, 
are inserted into a thin shell of glass of another color prepared for 
their reception. 

These are but a few of the varieties of glass ware manufactured. 
Each variety involves many interesting and curious details and 
processes. 

Cut glass is a specialty with the company and their patrons 
include some of the most celebrated dealers in the world. About 
fifty men are employed in the cutting room, and in addition to the 
more common patterns, the company has copyrighted a number 
of special designs, including the "Electric, "'"Thurber," and "Daunt- 
less" patterns. These designs are copyrighted that the company mav 
be protected from the pressed glass makers, who crib the popular 
patterns for the cheaper moulded ware. This latter can be easily 
detected, as it never exhibits the lustre or clearly cut configurations 
of the cut or ground glass. The cutting is executed by the use 
of three wheels. The surface is first applied to the face of revolving 
disks of iron, fed with fine sand and water. The marks of the 
rough grinding are then removed by a smooth grindstone, and the 
polishing is completed by wooden or brush wheels, to which a putty 
powder of tin and lead is applied. This powder and also the brush 
wheels are made on the premises. At their show rooms the com- 
pany now exhibits a toilet table made almost entirely of cut glass. 
This displays remarkable skill and beauty. It is piped for gas or 
can be wired for electric lijirhts, and its value is five hundred dollars. 

The decorating is done in a three story building on the premises, 
which is entirely given up to this department. Albert Stefiin is the 
superintendent in this department and designed the elegant decorated 
Burmese sent to the queen. This pattern has now become famous 
and is known as the "queen's" design. It conventionalizes a number 



222 NEW BEDFORD. 

of flowers and is in raised enamel. Much of the decorating is done 
with pure gold, reduced with acids, and the effect of the rich gold 
with the mellow shades of the Burmese is very lovely. The maiden 
hair fern design on lamps and shades of lustreless white glass 
is one of the most tasteful pieces of glass ware ever put on the mar- 
ket. Some others of the latest designs are the "tapestry," the "Per- 
sian," the latter giving the effect of inlaid enamel, the new lace 
pattern, and the "Egyptian" design, in which the pyramids and palms 
are conspicuous. There is also a design of fish swimming in a net 
of gold which is very attractive. The colors are of mineral compo- 
sition and are fused into the material by baking in the kilns. At the 
same time they undergo a chemical change which develops the bril- 
liancy and transparency. The salt, pepper, and sugar sifters, in the 
form of decorated eggs of glass, originated here and have proved a 
very successful Easter specialty. The decorated ware turned out here 
is of the highest grade, prepared for the finest trade. 

The company's employes number two hundred fifty and the 
annual pay roll aggregates over one hundred thousand dollars. 
The company employs two travelling salesmen and maintains a fine 
store at No. 46 Murray street, New York city. 

During the year there are consumed at the factory about fifteen 
hundred tons of coal, two thousand barrels of crude petroleum, two 
hundred tons of coke, one hundred tons of packing hay, and five 
thousand packages, such as casks and barrels for shipping. These, 
with the lumber, clay, and brick used, require the presence of a ves- 
sel at the wharf almost continually through the year. 

The present officers of the company are : 

President — William J. Rotch. 
Agent — Frederick S. Shirley. 
Treasurer — Andrew Snow, Jr. 

Directors — William J. Rotch, William W. Crapo, Jonathan 
Bourne, Edward D. Mandell, Oliver Prescott, and George R. Phillips. 

Not long ago a gentleman went into one of the largest stores in 
New York where art pottery and glass ware are sold, and, approach- 
ing a counter upon which some very beautiful lamps were displayed, 
tapped one of the decorated shades and asked the salesman if he 
wanted to purchase a stock of those goods. 

"Those goods are imported, sir," was the reply. "They are from 
the Royal Worcester works." 



224 



NEW BEDFORD. 



"I beg pardon," said the gentleman. "The vase of the lamp is 
Royal Worcester, but the shade was decorated in this country." 

The salesman denied this and said he would call the buyer for 
the firm, who happened to be present. 

The latter was called and substantiated the ^^statement that the 
article was imported. 




iMiiiliiiiliiillitoiiii*iiiiiiiiiiWiii 

THOMPSON STREET SCHOOL HOUSE. 

"That shade was made in New Bedford, at my shop," said the gen- 
tleman. 

"Well, who are jou, then?" was asked. 

"I am one of the firm of Smith Brothers," was the reply. 

The buver expressed much surprise, and having purchased the 
goods of an importer, said he had always supposed the shade was 
made across the water. That such work was executed in this coun- 
trv was a revelation to him. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



225 




It is a fact that the glass decoration done in New Bedford cannot 
be excelled anywhere in the world, and the firm of Smith Brothers is 

intimately connected 

\^-'^ — ^' '^'i^ivmir' "^ vAllli^^./ with the development 

of the industry in this 
country. The father 
of Messrs. Alfred E. 
and Harry A. Smith, 
who constitute the firm, 
was the pioneer in the 
glass decorating busi- 
ness in this country. 
He came here from 
England about the year 
185 1, at which time the 
art was in its infanc}', 
under contract with the 
Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, and encountered many dis- 
couraging obstacles. In the first place, the taste of the people had 
not been educated to an appreciation of the work. When Mr. Smith 
left England, the excavations at Nineveh and Pompeii had created 
a demand for reproductions of ancient pottery on which Grecian and 
Roman borders and figures were painted in black. The demand 
for such goods had reached the proportions of "a rage." The first 
difficulty in reproducing these articles here was encountered in the 
eflx)rt to obtain suitable ware to decorate. The workmen couldn't 
make the vases. There were hardly two blanks alike and it was a 
good deal of trouble to match the vases into pairs. When the goods 
were put on the market, the dealers sent word that '-they didn't want 
any more of those niggers." Alfred was in the employ of his father 
at this time and was the first artist in this country to put enamel 
colors on a cone shade. The experiment was not a success. The 
colors which the decorator had at his disposal were manufactured m 
a crude way, being simply glass ground to an impalpable powder. 
But the glass of which the shades were made was so easily hisible 
that they would not stand the ordeal of fire in the kilns. 

Nearly discouraged. Mr. Smith looked about to see in what 
direction his art could be utilized and rendered profitable. At that 
time fluid lamps were in common use, and the experiment of gilding 



226 NEW BEDFORD. 



designs on the lamps and pedestals was tried. It was found that the 
glass would stand fairly well a "gold" fire, or the temperature required 

#to make the gold unite with the glass, and the new 
idea was an instantaneous and brilliant success. 
Everybody wanted decorated lamps and hundreds of 
thousands were made. Occasionally enamel colors 
were tried, but the glass was unsuitable. 
Still the decorators yearned for a broader field 
^,__™_^ and the Smiths commenced reducing the colors with 

^^^M^f^^ flux, causing them to fuse at a lower temperature, but 
w^^U^^^ this, of course, affected the quality of the color. 
^mSu^P'^ The problem was solved years after by the Messrs. 
^^gSj^ Smith. It was another phase of the story of the 
^r^^^9 mountain which would not come to Mohammed. 
The blank shades were imported and Smith Brothers were the first 
decorating firm to order shades from abroad, prepared for their pur- 
poses. Subsequently all the decorators followed their example. 

In addition to gilding lamps, Mr. Smith introduced a new style 
ol apothecary's ware, which was afterwards driven out of the market 
by the invention of the recessed labels. 

After a few years, the elder Smith severed his connection with 
the Boston & Sandwich Company and established the Boston China 
Decorating Works, now managed by Levi Cooley, who formerly 
fired kilns for Mr. Smith. 

In the spring of 1871, Messrs. Alfred E. and Harry A. Smith 
came to this city under contract with William L. Libbey and estab- 
lished a decorating department at the Mount Washington Glass 
Works, starting with eight or ten workmen. Two years previously, 
decorated ring cone shades were introduced and they were now in 
good demand. The decorating department here was a success from 
the outset. At the expiration of three years the Messrs. Smith hired 
the department, bought the stock, and have since conducted the business. 
The reputation of the firm of Smith Brothers is now world-wide and 
the brothers rank first in their particular line. They have graduated 
some of the best workmen in the country and in addition to the 
young men under their instruction, employ some of the best artists 
from abroad. 

About four years ago the firm removed to the building Nos. 28 
and 30 William street, which it now occupies. The building is three 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



229 



Stories high, fifty by eighty feet in area, and is completely equipped 
in every respect. There are four kilns, and about thirty workmen 
are employed. 

The firm has kept pace with the rapid advance in the education 
of the taste of the people. At first only ordinary work was required, 
but now there is a demand for a line of artistic work which was never 
dreamed of a few years ago. After the rage for ring cone shades 
had subsided, the firm turned its attention to the decoration of vases, 
and produced thousands. These vases were nearly all sent to the 
silver plating works for mounting, a great many being decorated 
for Reed & Barton and the Meriden Britannia Company. What is 
everywhere known as the "Smith vase" was first made here, and 
no vase ever had so great a run of popularity. Finally the pattern 
was copied. Horace Partridge placed it in the dollar stores and the 
countr}- is now flooded with reproductions. 

Berry and similar dishes were also made. Then dome shades 
became the fashion, but at first they were made almost exclusively for 
the chandelier companies. The decoration of lamps has lent a new 
impetus to the business and the firm is now decorating a great many 
lamps and jars. 

The lamp vases and shades painted here are exquisitely beau- 
tiful and artistic. Some of the best effects are obtained on shades of 
white with a bisque finish. Oriental scenes are painted in the most 
delicate colors and are of dreamy beauty. When lighted, the effects 
are lovely, and the details of the work wdll bear the most careful 
inspection. Conventional designs in enamel and gold, with Etruscan 
or burnished finish, are very popular and artistic. The firm also 
decorates shades on special orders and local landscapes are frequently 
utilized. While imported porcelains yet hold sway, but little if any 
decorated glass ware is now sent to this countr3^ Baccara, of Paris, 
once sent the finest decorated shades to this country, but such work 
as that done at the establishment of Smith Brothers has driven foreign 
manufacturers from the market. 

When the people are ready to pay the price tor domestic deco- 
rated porcelains that they will pay for Royal Worcester and other 
imported w^are. Smith Brothers can undoubtedly' produce goods which 
will equal and excel them in artistic beauty and effect. The prices 
paid for decorated glass ware are very low for the standard of work 
required. A ten-inch shade, for instance, calls for a painting thirty 



230 NEW BEDFORD. 



inches in length, which must equal in excellence that of a painting 
by an artist on canvas. But greater skill and judgment are required 
by the painter on glass. None of the clear, bright colors are per- 
ceived until the work is completed and the paint is fused into the 
material. The artist consequently labors under great disadvantage 
in applying the materials that are to produce the colors. A difference 
of ten or twelve degrees in the temperature of the kiln makes or mars 
his work. Every article must be tried by fire. If the kiln is too hot 
the article is warped and ruined. When it is taken into consideration 
that in some instances the variety of colors requires an article to pass 
through the kiln three times before it is completed, the reasonable 
price of decorated glass ware is to be marvelled at. 

Within a few months the firm has engaged in glass cutting. A 
number of fine workmen are employed and some beautiful specimens 
of the cutters' art are turned out at the factor}^ 

This firm made a display at the centennial exposition which was 
a revelation to the country, and it received diplomas over every other 
competitor for the special excellence of its work. 

The King Manufacturing Company manufactures frames and 
artistic novelties at No. 147 North Water street. This company was 
incorporated in 1883 and its capital is $20,000. The following are 
the officers of the company : 

President — George S. Homer. 
Treasurer — Charles E. Barney- 
Directors — The above, with William H. Washburn, Frank C. 
Smith, and Henry P. Jenney. 

A factory of brick, thirty-five by one hundred sixty feet in 
area, two stories high, was erected by the company, and equipped 
with the most modern machinery and appliances. The firm makes a 
specialty of pastel or crayon drawings and of fancy frames tor origi- 
nal pictures. Such is the demand for pastels made by this establish- 
ment that the firm is usually five or six weeks behind on its orders. 
The pastels are made in sizes ranging from eight by ten inches to 
large pictures, thirty by forty inches. This firm is the only manu- 
facturer of permanent pastels on porcelain panels, the process of 
fixing the colors so that they will not rub being a secret. The effect 
of the drawings on white panels of etched glass is very dainty and 
charming. The company also manufactures toilet mirrors, cabinet 
frames, toilet novelties, broom cases, mouldings, mats, wall pockets, 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



231 



brackets, towel racks, parlor screens, hat racks, wall cabinets, clock 
and book shelves, artotype cases, parlor, album, and table easels, 
and photograph and water color panels. It has a branch factory at 
Newport, where photographs are made and artotype photographs 
and etchings are printed, and about ten thousand of these prints are 
kept constantl}' in stock. 

The firm makes many nice frames to order for etchings, upon 
which "remarks," as they are technically called, are carved. These 
"remarks" are designs suggested by the subject of the pictures. 

About one thousand designs of bronze, gold, ivory, and natural 
wood mouldings are kept in stock, and the ornaments are made here. 
The moulds employed in their manufacture are sunk on the premises 
as well. This firm makes a larger variety of turned circular frames 
than any other company. It keeps in stock about four hundred styles 
of cabinet and wall brackets, as many styles of fancy frames, and 
about two hundred styles of parlor easels. 

The firm employs about one hundred twenty operatives in the 
busy season and keeps four travelling salesmen on the road. 

The firm of Peirce & Bushnell, manufacturers of picture frames, 
photographs, and art novelties, was formed in 1870, Mr. Peirce sever- 
ing his connection at about that time with the firm of Charles Taber 
& Co. Mr. Bushnell died in 1882, and in the spring of 1887 the 
business passed into the control of a new corporation, known as the 
Peirce & Bushnell Manufacturing Company, which organized with 
a capital stock of $30,000 and with the following officers : 

President — William D. Howland. 
Treasurer and clerk — Arthur G. Grinnell. 

Directors — The above, with Walter Cliflxird, Charles W. Plum- 
mer, and George H. H. Allen. 

The building occupied by the firm is on the east side of North 
Water street, numbered 72 and 76. It is three stories high, with ells 
at the south and east. The offices, sample and stock rooms, and the 
photographic department are located in the main building. In the 
south ell are the polishing and packing rooms and in the east ell are 
the bronzing, mat, and gilding rooms and the frame shop. In the 
busy season about one hundred fifty hands are employed at this 
establishment. The space occupied by the various departments is 
about one hundred thousand square feet. 

Photographs, picture frames, mouldings, brackets, cabinets, 



232 NEW BEDFORD. 



easels, wall pockets, and holiday novelties are made here, and the 
firm will not yield the claim for first place in the manufacture and 
coloring of photographs. As at the two other factories in the city 
the frame mouldings are ornamented and carved on the premises, 
from original designs, and the goods stand well in point of artistic 
excellence with any made in the country. The company has a New 
York office on Great Jones street, and employs three travelling sales- 
men. 

L. A. Littlefield, manufacturer of trimmings for glass ware and 
electroplater, has built up a thrifty and constantly increasing busi- 
ness at No. 134 Union street. At the present time he is principally 
engaged in the manufacture of caps for pepper, salt, and mustard 
bottles. He employs four men, and electric motors furnish power for 
his lathes. Mr. Littlefield also does a large business in silver and 
nickel plating. He commenced business here with George Needham, 
under the firm name of Needham & Littlefield, in 1884. Mr. Need- 
ham withdrew from the firm in April, 1888. 

Fred H. Sargent is engaged in gold, silver, and nickel plating 
at the corner of Pleasant street and Mechanics lane. He emplovs 
the "close plating" process, plating carriage trimmings and other 
new^ goods, as well as replating articles. 

Charles F. Folger, manufacturer of cabinets, easels, brackets, and 
screens, started business in 1884 and occupies the entire three story 
factory, Nos. 133, 135, and 137 South Water street. He employs 
between fifteen and twenty skillful workmen and makes wood mantels 
and sideboards to order. He is also prepared to fit offices and do 
general inside finishing for stores and halls, and wood turning and 
jig sawing as well. Mr. Folger has a salesroom at No. 264 Canal 
street. New York city, and J. P. Howatt acts as his general agent. 

F. Bertram Aulich carries on glass decorating in the three story 
brick building Nos. 23 and 25 Union street, and makes a specialty of 
the decoration of lamp goods, vases, plaques, and alabaster tiles. 
He has been established in business about six years and employs 
thirteen men. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



233 



BANKS AND BANKING. 

The banking facilities of New Bedford are unusual for a city of 
its size, the capital and surplus of our national and savings banks 
aggregating considerably over twenty million dollars and exceeding 
by several million dollars the entire valuation of the city forty years 
ago. 

The First National Bank, at the southeast corner of Union and 
Second streets, was formerly the Marine Bank, which was organized 
April 3, 1832, with a capital of $200,000. The first board of direct- 
ors comprised Joseph Grinnell, Nathaniel Hathaway, Kimball Perrv. 
Joseph S. Tillinghast, Alexander H. Campbell, Ephraim Kempton, 
Benjamin Russell, Joseph R. Anthony, and William W. Swain. In 
1833 the capital was increased to $300,000, in 185 1 to $500,000, and 
in 1855 to $600,000. Joseph Grinnell was its first and only president, 
and John E. Williams, William M. Sisson, and John P. Barker were 
the cashiers. This bank was the first national bank in the city and 
was among the first in the state to adopt the national system. This 
was in 1864, when its name was changed to that which it now bears. 
The directors were Joseph Grinnell, Ward M. Parker, William 
Giffbrd, Edward W. Rowland, Edward C. Jones, Lemuel Kollock, 
George F. Barker, Otis Seabur}-, and Ivory H. Bartlett, Jr. Joseph 
Grinnell condnued to act as president of the bank until January, 1878, 
when he was succeeded by Edward W. Rowland, and finallv by 
William Watkins. In i860 the capital was increased to $1,000,000. 
at which amount it now stands, and the surplus aggregates $200,000. 
The bank has been since its organization a designated depositorv of 
the United States. In 1874, Walter P. Winsor succeeded Mr. Barker 
as cashier, a position which he now holds. George B. Rathaway is 
the teller. 

The directors since the organization as the Marine Bank, with 
the years in which their terms of service began and ended, have been 
as follows : Joseph Grinnell, 1832 to 1885 ; William W. Swain. 1832 
to 1845 ; Nathaniel Rathaway, 1S32 to 1837 : Joseph S. Tillinghast. 
1832 to 1835: Joseph R. Anthony, 1832 to 1840; Kimball Perry. 
1832, six months; Alexander H.Campbell. 1832 to 1834; Benjamin 
Russell, 1832 to 1833; Ephraim Kempton, 1832 to 1863; Stephen 



234 NEW BEDFORD. 



Merrihew, 1832 to 1837 ; William C. Taber, 1833 to 1857 ; James 
Howland, 2d, 1834 to 1861 ; Atkins Adams, 1835 to 1850 ; Alexander 
H. Seabury, 1837 to 1840, and 1867 to 1887 ; Edward C. Jones, 1837 
to 1880: Ward M. Parker, 1840 to 1881 ; Lemuel Kollock, 1840 to 
1888; Edward W. Howland, 1845 to 1879; William Gifford, 1851 to 
1866 : George F. Barker, 1857 to 1865 ; Otis Seabury, i860 to 1875 ; 
Ivory H. Bartlett, Jr., 1862 to 1865 ; James Henry Howland, 1865 to 
1884: Joseph C. Delano, 1865 to 1886: Charles U. GifFord, 1866 to 
1881 ; John P. Knowles, 2d, 1867 to 1887 ; Samuel P. Burt, 1871 to 
1875: Abram T. Eddy. 1876: Walter P. Winsor, 1879; William 
Watkins, 1879 5 Thomas M. Stetson, 1880 ; Edward S. Taber, 1881 ; 
Edmund Grinnell, 1882 to 1888 ; William Baylies, 1885 ; Edward T. 
Pierce, 1886; Humphrey W. Seabury, 1887; Savory C. Hathaway, 
1887 : Matthew Luce, 1888: Sidney W. Knowles, 1888. 

The present officers are as follows : 

President — William Watkins. 

Cashier — Walter P. Winsor. 

Directors — Abram T. Eddy, Walter P. Winsor, William Watkins, 
Thomas M. Stetson, Edward S. Taber, William Baylies, Humphrey 
W. Seabury, Savory C. Hathaway, Edward T. Pierce, Matthew Luce", 
and Sidne}' W. Knowles. 

The history of the National Bank of Commerce is of peculiar 
interest. In 1803, we read that the business of the town had increased 
sufficiently to warrant the establishment of a bank and The Bedford 
Bank was incorporated with a capital of $60,000. At the outset it was 
thought this amount w^ould be more than could be loaned, but in 
1804 it became necessary to increase the capital to the enormous sum 
of $150,000. In 181 2, the old charter expired and as the country was 
then at war with England, the state of business was deemed so preca- 
rious that the affairs of the institution were concluded. Thomas 
Hazard was the first president and John Pickens was the cashier. 
Among the first directors were John Howland, Cornelius Grinnell, 
William Rotch, Jr., and Thomas Nye. 

There was no bank in New Bedford for an interval of four years, 
but in 1816 the Bedford Commercial Bank was established with a 
capital of $100,000, which was increased in 1821 to $150,000 ; in 1825 
to $250,000; in 1831 to $400,000, and in 1851 to $600,000. Joseph 
Ricketson was elected cashier at a salar}' of $500 per annum, and 



o 



4. ^ 



— -— -~iiV%bj 













^ 



/■^■:-^ 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 237 



John Avery Parker, Cornelius Grinnell, Gideon Howland, George 
Howland, Seth Russell, Jr. , James Arnold, Joseph Ricketson, Thomas 
Nye, and Samuel Rodman, Jr., were chosen directors, with George 
Howland as president. The old bank building was a quaint affair 
and the subterranean vaults were calculated to defy the efforts of 
thieves who might be disposed to break through and steal. George 
Howland was president of the institution until his death in 185 1, when 
Edward Mott Robinson was elected to the position. He filled the 
position until i860, when Thomas Nye, Jr., succeeded him. Thomas 
S. Hathaway held the office from 1869 until 1878, and Francis Hath- 
away, the present incumbent, was elected in 1878. 

The Bedford Commercial Bank was organized as the National 
Bank of Commerce, December 19, 1864, and Thomas Nye, Jr., 
William J. Rotch, Thomas S. Hathaway, George Hussey, Matthew 
Howland , Charles L. Wood, William Hathaway , Jr. , Thomas Knowles, 
Henry Taber. and William C. N. Swift were elected directors. In 
1874 ^^^^ capital stock was increased to $1,000,000, which is its pres- 
ent capital. The surplus is now $200,000. 

The directors of the bank since its organization in 1816, with the 
years of their term of service, have been as follows : John Avery 
Parker, 1816 to 1825 : Cornelius Grinnell, 1816 to 1831 ; Gideon 
Howland, Jr., 1816 to 1825; George Howland, 1816 to 1852; Seth 
Russell, Jr., 1816 to 1834; James Arnold, 1816 to 1836, 1837 ^'^ 
1838, 1840 to 1S54 ; Joseph Ricketson, 1816 to 1842; Thomas Nye, 
1816 to 1831 ; Samuel Rodman, Jr., 1816 to 1849; Nathaniel Hatha- 
way, 1825 to 1832; Thomas Rotch, 1825 to 1826; Charles W. 
Morgan, 1826 to 1848 ; Joseph Grinnell, 1831 to 1832; William T. 
Russell, 1831 to 1837; Thomas S. Hathaway, 1832 to 1S78 ; Jireh 
Perry, 1832 to 1849; Thomas Nye, Jr., 1834 to 1869, 1871 to 1883 ; 
Edward Mott Robinson, 1836 to 1840, 1848 to i860; William Hatha- 
way, Jr., 1838 to 1886; Abraham H. Howland, 1842 to 1847; 
Charles L. Wood, 1847 to 1882; William C. Nye, 1849 to 1850; 
William C. N. Swift, 1849; George Hussey, 1849 to 1866; William 
J. Rotch, 1852 ; Matthew Howland, 1852 to 1885 ; Frederick Parker, 
1859 to 1862 ; John Hunt, i860 to 1862 ; Henry Taber, 1862 
Thomas Knowles, 1862 to 1878; John H. Clifford, 1866 to 1872 
Leander A. Plummer, 1867 to 1885 ; James Robinson, 1872 to 1875 
Benjamin T. Cummings, 1877 to 1882 ; Charles W. Clifford, 1878 
Francis Hathaway, 1878; Frederick Swift, 1880; Morgan Rotch, 



238 NEW BEDFORD. 



1882; William A. Robinson, 1882; Oliver Prescott, 1883; Otis N. 
Pierce, 1883 ; Charles W. Plummer, 1883 ; Joseph F. Knowles, 1883 ; 
Walter Clifford, 1885 5 Manly U. Adams, 1885 ; William D. How- 
land, 1886. 

The cashiers have been as follows : Joseph Ricketson, 1816-34, 
James H. Crocker, 1834-38; Thomas B. White, 1838-73 ; Benjamin 
F. Coombs, 1873-76 ; and James H. Tallman, 1877 to the present time. 
The teller is Horace Wood. 

The present officers of the bank are as follows : 

President — Francis Hathaway. 

Vice president — William C. N. Swift. 

Cashier — James H. Tallman. 

Directors — Francis Hathaway, William C. N. Swift, Henry 
Taber, William J. Rotch, Charles W. Clifford, WilHam A. Robinson, 
Frederick Swift, Oliver Prescott, Charles W. Plummer, Walter Clif- 
ford, Morgan Rotch, Otis N. Pierce, Joseph F. Knowles. William D. 
Howland, and Manly U. Adams. 

In 1883 the imposing bank building of brick and brownstone, on 
North Water street, now^ occupied by the bank, was erected, and it is 
regarded as one of the ornaments of the city. 

The Merchants National Bank has elegantly fitted quarters in the 
stately building on Water street, at the foot of William. It is the 
offspring of the Merchants Bank, which was organized July 13, 1825, 
with a capital of $150,000. This was increased while the bank was 
doing business under the state law in 1828, to $250,000; in 1831 to 
$400,000; and in 185 1 to $600,000. The first board of directors 
consisted of John Avery Parker, Samuel Borden, Job Eddy, x\braham 
Barker, Joseph Bourne, William H. Allen, David R. Greene, John 
Coggeshall, Jr., and Alfred Gibbs. Mr. Parker was the president of 
the bank until his death, December 23, 1853. Charles R. Tucker 
succeeded him, holding the office until his death, December 21, 1876, 
when Jonathan Bourne succeeded him, and is now president. James 
B. Congdon was the first cashier. He resigned January i, 1858, and 
was succeeded by Peleg C. Howland, to whose untiring zeal is due 
in a great measure the bank's present standing of excellence. On 
the death of Mr. Howland, October 26, 1885, Henry C. W. Mosher 
was elected to the position and is now cashier. Gideon B. Wright 
and Lloyd S. Swain are the tellers. The bank was reorganized as 
The Merchants National Bank of New Bedford, February 14, 1865, 



240 NEW BEDFORD. 



with the following board of directors : Charles R. Tucker, Abra- 
ham Barker, David R. Greene, Gideon Allen, Thomas Bradley, 
Dennis Wood, Jonathan Bourne, William P. Rowland, and Andrew 
Hicks. The capital stock at that time was $600,000, with a surplus 
of $166,050.58. In 1869 the capital was increased to $1,000,000, 
at which figure it now stands, with a surplus of $500,000. 

The directors of this bank since the beginning, with the years of 
their term of service, have been as follows : John Avery Parker, 
1825 to 1854; William H. Allen, 1825 to 1829; Abraham Barker, 
1825 to 1871 ; John Coggeshall, Jr., 1825 to 1844; Joseph Bourne, 
1825 to 1828 ; Alfred Gibbs, 1825 to 1842 ; Job Eddy, 1825 to 1853 ; 
David R. Greene, 1825 to 1880; Samuel Borden, 1825 to 1849; 
William C. Nye, 1829 to 1831 ; Gideon Allen, 1832 to 1878 ; Nehe- 
miah Leonard, 1832 to 1843; Edward L. Baker, 1843 to 1864; 
Charles R. Tucker, 1844 to 1876 ; Dennis Wood, 1850 to 1878 ; 
William Penn Howland, 1850 to 1869 ; Jonathan Bourne. 1854 5 
Andrew Hicks, 1854; Thomas Bradley, 1855 to 1873; George F. 
Bartlett, 1866; William R. Wing, 1866; George R. Phillips, 1866: 
Joseph Arthur Beauvais, 1872 to 1875 '■> George F. Kingman, 1876; 
Stephen G. Driscol, 1876 to 1881 ; Lewis S. Judd, 1877 to 1886; 
Samuel C. Hart, 1878; Thomas H. Knowles, 1878: Gilbert Allen, 
1879; Abraham H. Howland, Jr., 1879 ^^ 1887 ; Francis B. Greene, 
1880; William N. Church, 1882; George S. Homer, 1887: James 
Delano, 1888. 

The officers, as they now stand, are as follows : 

President — Jonathan Bourne. 

Cashier — Henry C. W. Mosher. 

Directors — Jonathan Bourne, Andrew Hicks, George F. Bartlett, 
William R. Wing, George F. Kingman, William N. Church, Thomas 
H. Knowles, Samuel C. Hart, Gilbert Allen, Francis B. Greene, James 
Delano, and George S. Homer. 

The Mechanics National Bank occupies handsome quarters in 
the same building. This was originally a state bank and was incor- 
porated October 3, 1831, under the name of "The President, Direct- 
ors, and Company of the Mechanics Bank in New Bedford." In 
March, 1849, ^^^ legislature was petitioned for a renewal of the origi- 
nal charter, which would expire October i, 185 1. b}' limitation. The 
bank did not cease business as a state bank until March 31, 1865, 
although the bank was reorganized as a national bank, June 3, 1864. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 24I 



The original capital was $200,000. which was increased to 
$400,000 April 12, 1854, ^"^ ^^ $600,000, the present capital of the 
Mechanics National Bank, in June. 1857. The present surplus is 
$225,000. 

The original board of directors comprised William R. Rodman, 
Thomas Mandell, George T. Baker, Joseph R. Shiverick. John Per- 
kins, Edmund Gardner, Pardon Tillinghast, Andrew Robeson, and 
Dudley Davenport. Following are given the names of all who have 
served the bank as directors, with the years in which their service 
began and ended: William R. Rodman, 1831 to 1851 ; Thomas 
Mandell, 1831 to 1870; George T. Baker, 1831 to 1843 ; Joseph R. 
Shiverick, 1831 to i860; John Perkins, 1831 to 1849: Edmund 
Gardner, 1831 to 1872; Pardon Tillinghast, 1831 to 1872; Andrew 
Robeson, 1831 to 1848; Dudley Davenport, 1831 to 1848: James H. 
Collins, 1843 to 1861 ; William Cummings, 1848 to 1849; Jonathan 
Rowland, 1848 to 1849; John R. Thornton, 1849; Jireh Swift, Jr., 
1849; Edmund Taber, 1849 to 1861 ; Henry Taber, 1851 to 1852; 
WllHam Watkins. 1852 to t88o : Loum Snow, i860 to 1872 ; William 
W. Crapo, 1861 ; Thomas Wilcox, 1861 ; Sylvanus Thomas, 1866 to 
1867 ; Aijdrew G. Pierce, 1867 ; Edward D. Mandell, 187 1 ; Horatio 
Hathaway, 1872 ; Henry F. Thomas, 1872 to 1880 : Loum Snow, Jr., 
1876 ; E. Williams Hervey, 1883 : Edward Kilburn, 1883 ; Henry C. 
Denison, 1887. 

William R. Rodman was the first president. He held the office 
for twenty years, resigning in October, 1851. Thomas Mandell suc- 
ceeded him, being elected president October 11, 185 1, and holding 
the office until his death, February 13, 1870. William W. Crapo was 
chosen president June i, 1870, and still retains that position. 

Joseph Congdon was the first cashier and he held the posidon 
until October 7, 1857. a period of twenty-six years, when he resigned 
on account of ill health. E. Williams Hervey succeeded Mr. Cong- 
don as cashier, being elected October 7, 1857. He held the position 
until August 9, 1882, when he also resigned on account ot ill health, 
after having been for twenty-nine years in the service of the bank, 
and cashier for a period of nearly twenty-five years. James W. Her- 
vey succeeded him and is the present cashier. Lemuel T. Terry is 
the assistant cashier, and the present officers of the bank are as 
follows : 



242 NEW BEDFORD. 



President — William W. Crapo. 

Vice president — Andrew G. Pierce. 

Cashier — James W. Hervey. 

Directors — William W. Crapo, Andrew G. Pierce, John R. 
Thornton, Jireh Swift, Thomas Wilcox, Edward D. Mandell, Horatio 
Hathaway, E. Williams Hervey, Loum Snow, Jr., Edward Kilburn, 
and Henry C. Denison. 

The Citizens National Bank, 36 North Water street, was incorpo- 
rated May 17, 1875, with the following board of directors : J. Arthur 
Beauvais, John P. Knowles, William J. Kilburn, Joseph H. Cornell, 
Lewis S. Judd, and John F. Tucker. Mr. Beauvais, who was at that 
time engaged in a successful private banking enterprise, transferred 
his business to the new bank and was elected president, a position 
which he still holds. The bank was organized with a capital of 
$250,000, which was subsequently increased to $500,000, and this 
latter amount is now supplemented by a surplus of $52,500. Thomas 
B. Fuller was the first cashier, and on his death in 1886, Edward S. 
Brown was elected to the position. George M. Kingman is teller. 
Its directors, with the years of their service, have been as follows : 
J. Arthur Beauvais, 1875 '■> John P. Knowles, 1875 ; William J. Kil- 
burn, 1875 5 Charles Tucker, 1875 ; Joseph H. Cornell, 1875 ^o 
1884; Lewis S. Judd, 1875 to 1876; John F. Tucker, 1875 to 1886; 
Henry T. Wood, 1876 to 1883 ; George Marston, 1880 to 1883 ; 
Fred S. Potter, 1881 ; Oliver P. Brightman, 1884; Wendell H. 
Cobb, 1884 to 1888; Thomas B. Fuller, 1885 to 1886; David B. 
Kempton, 1886; Cyrenius W. Haskins, 1887. 

The present officers are as follows : 

President — J. Arthur Beauvais. 

Cashier — Edward S. Brown. 

Directors — J. Arthur Beauvais, John P. Knowles, William J. 
Kilburn, Charles Tucker, Fred S. Potter, Oliver P. Brightman, David 
B. Kempton, Cyrenius W. Haskins, Hosea M. Knowlton, and Benja- 
min Wilcox. 

Recently the national banks orgranized an association known as 
the New Bedford Clearing House, with James W. Hervey as presi- 
dent and Edward S. Brown, secretary. All clearings are made at 
the National Bank of Commerce, under the management of James 
H. Tallman. 

The national banks have each several hundred small sates 
within their vaults for the gratuitous use of their depositors. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



. 245 



The New Bedford Institution for Savings enjoys the distinction of 
having the largest aggregate of deposits of any savings bank in New 
England, outside of Boston, with one exception. It occupies the 
neat and convenient building at the northeast corner of William and 
Second streets. 

The institution was incorporated in 1825, by the following gentle- 
men : William Rotch, Jr., Gilbert Russell, Cornelius Grinnell, 




NEW BEDFORD INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS. 

Andrew Robeson, Haydon Coggeshall, Benjamin Rodman, John 
Avery Parker, Eli Haskell, Richard Williams, George Howland, 
Joseph Bourne, Abraham Shearman, Jr., William W. Swain, Thomas 
Rotch, Thomas A. Greene, Charles W. Morgan, Samuel Rodman, 
Tr., John B. Smith, William C. Nye, Thomas S. Swain, William H. 
Allen, Lemuel Williams, Jr., John Howland, Jr., Charles H. Warren, 
William P. Grinnell, Joseph Ricketson, Charles Grinnell, Nathan 



246 NEW BEDFORD. 

Bates, John Coggeshall, Jr., James Howland, 2d, and Gideon How- 
land. Every one of these men is now dead. 
The first officers were as follows : 

President — William Rotch, Jr. 

Treasurer — Abraham Shearman, Jr. 

Secretary — John B. Smith. 

Trustees — William Rotch, Jr.. Gilbert Russell, Cornelius Grin- 
nell, Haydon Coggeshall, John A. Parker, Eli Haskell, Joseph 
Bourne, Abraham Shearman, Jr., Thomas Rotch, Thomas A. Green, 
Charles W. Morgan, Samuel Rodman, Jr., William C. Nye, Thomas 
S. Swain, John Howland, Jr., William P. Grinnell, Nathaniel Bates, 
John Coggeshall, Jr., and Gideon Howland. 

Following is a list of officers from 1825 until the present time : 

Presidents — William Rotch, Jr., Abraham Barker, Thomas 
Mandell, Pardon Tillinghast, William C. Taber, and William 
Watkins. 

Secretaries — John B. Smith, Abraham Shearman, Jr., Thomas A. 
Green, Joseph Ricketson, George Howland, Jr., James B. Congdon, 
Charles R. Tucker, William C. Taber, Edmund Taber, Henry T. 
Wood, and William G. Wood. 

Treasurers — Abraham Shearman, Jr., William C. Taber, George 
W. Baker, William C. Taber (treasurer, ^;-<9 /rw;. ) , Reuben Nye, 
William C. Coffin, and Charles H. Peirce. 

The present officers are as follows : 

President — William Watkins. 

Vice presidents — William J. Rotch, Edward D. Mandell. 

Treasurer — Charles H. Peirce. 

Clerk — William G. Wood. 

Auditors — Benjamin Irish, Robert B. Gifford. 

Auditor of depositors' accounts — Benjamin Irish. 

Trustees — Benjamin T. Ricketson, John R. Thornton, George 
A. Bourne, WilliamJ. Rotch, William Watkins, Edward D. Mandell, 
Gilbert Allen, Andrew G. Pierce, Charles H. Giffi3rd, Asa C. Peirce, 
William G. Wood, William C. Taber, Jr., Joshua C. Hitch, Abram T. 
Eddy, Horatio Hathaway, Edward S. Taber, Thomas M. Hart, 
Charles W. CliffiDrd, Isaac W. Benjamin, Francis Hathaway, William 
A. Robinson, Charles W. Plummer, Isaac B. Tompkins, Jr., George 
D. Watkins, William D. Howland, Jonathan Handy, Morgan Rotch, 
Lemuel T. Terry, Edmund Wood, Charles P. Rugg, Walter Clifford, 
Gideon Allen, Jr., Edward T. Pierce. 

The first deposit, fifty dollars, was made by Rhoda E. Wood, of 
Fairhaven, August 15, 1825. The amount of deposits, January 5, 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



247 



1889, was $10,683,053.13; guaranty fund, $360,000; undivided 
earnings, $119,390.51. The number of accounts was 20,626. 

The New Bedford Five Cents Savings Bank was incorporated 
May 5, 1855, ^"<^ ^ts banking rooms are now at No. 71 Purchase 
street, at the corner of Mechanics hme. The original incorporators 
were : Thomas B. White, WilHam H. Taylor, Lemuel Kollock, 
Ivory H. Bartlett, Alexander H. Seabury, Charles Almy, Henry H. 
Crapo, George Rowland, Jr., and Asa R. Nye. Of these, George 
Howland, Jr., is the only survivor. 

The first officers were as follows : 

President — George Howland, Jr. 

Vice presidents — Henry H. Crapo, Alexander H. SeabUry. 

Treasurer — John P. Barker. 

Secretary — Charles Aim}-. 

Trustees — George Howland, Jr., Henry H. Crapo, Alexander 
H. Seabury, John P. Barker. Charles Almy, Thomas B. White, 
Ivorv H. Bartlett, Nehemiah Leonard, x\ndrew Robeson, Edward W. 
Howland, Moses Howe, Joshua Richmond, George F. Baker, Dennis 
Wood, Charles Hitch, James Durfee, Lemuel Kollock, Asa R. Nye, 
Edward D. Mandell, William P. Howland, Alden G. Ellis, J. Arthur 
Beauvais, Moses G. Thomas, Samuel Ivers, Simpson Hart, Abner J. 
Phipps, William H. Taylor, James Tav'lor, William R. Rodman, 
Horatio Leonard, and John Wood. 

The officers of the organization to the present time have been : 

President — George How-land, Jr. 

Secretaries — Charles Almy, James Taylor. 

Vice presidents — Alexander H. Seabury, Dennis Wood, Fred- 
erick S. Allen, Lemuel Kollock, and Walter Clifford. 

Treasurers — John P. Barker, from May, 1855, to October, 1855 ; 
James C. Ricketson, from October, 1855, to April 6, 1861 : Barton 
Ricketson, Jr., from April, 1861, undl the present time. 

The present officers are : 

President — George Howland, Jr. 

Vice presidents — Frederick S. Allen. Walter Clifford. 

Treasurer — Barton Ricketson. Jr. 

Clerk — James Taylor. 

Trustees — George"' Howland, Jr., Frederick S. Allen, Edward 
B. Whiting, William Baylies, Samuel Ivers, Thomas Wilcox. Will- 
iam G. Taber, John P. Knowles, 2d, E. Williams Hervey, Warren 
Ladd, James Taylor, Henrv J. Taylor, William J. Kilburn, Edwin 
Dews, Fredericks. Potter, "William R. Wing, James P. Macomber. 



248 NEW BEDFORD. 



J. Augustus Brownell, Loum Snow, Frederick S. Gifford, Thomas 
H. Knowles, Henry C. Denison, Samuel H. Cook, Samuel C. Hart, 
Otis N. Pierce, C. B. H, Fessenden, George N. Alden, Benjamin 
T. Cummings, Oliver F. Brown, Edward H. Allen, George F. King- 
man, Parkman M. Lund, John F. Swift, Horace Wood, Frederick 
H. Hooper, Walter Clifford, George H. H. Allen, J. Arthur Beau- 
vais, Sidney W. Knowles, Gilbert D. Kingman. 

The first deposit, $25, was made by Horace W. Barker, May 26, 
1855. The deposits in December, 1888, had reached $4,156,669.86; 
earnings, $39,218.92 ; reserve fund, $100,320.13 ; surplus fund, 
$38,765.99. The number of accounts open was 15,835. 

Money goes on interest the second Wednesday of January, April, 
]u\y, and October. Dividends are payable on the second Wednesday 
of April and October. 

The New Bedford Safe Deposit and Trust Company was incor- 
porated by the legislature of 1887, with a capital stock of $100,000, 
and authority to increase to $500,000. Business was commenced in 
June, 1888. In November of the same year the stockholders voted 
to increase the capital stock to $200,000. At that date the number of 
depositors was one hundred eighty-two and the deposits amounted to 
$150,000. The banking rooms are on the northeast corner of William 
street and Acushnet avenue and the quarters are sumptuous and ele- 
gant in every respect. It provides' means for the safe deposit of any 
valuable article, it may be appointed trustee under any will or instru- 
ment creating a trust for the care and management of property, under 
the same circumstances, in the same manner, and subject to the same 
control by the court having jurisdiction of the same, as in the case of 
a legally qualified person. 

The company acts as agent for any corporation, city, or town in 
issuing certificates of stock, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness, 
and for the payment of dividends and interest thereon. It also acts 
as agent in collecting and disbursing the income on any property 
which may be placed in its charge. 

In addition to the various departments of activity which have been 
enumerated, the company also does a general banking business, pre- 
cisely like that of a national bank, exxept that it issues no bank notes. 
Deposits of money are received payable by check on presentation, 
and interest is allowed on daily balances and credited monthly. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 249 

Special rates of interest are allowed on lime deposits. Notes are 
discounted and collections niade the same as at any bank. 

The distinctive feature of this institution is its tine vault, which 
was built by the Hall Safe and Lock Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. 
It contains four hundred eighty-nine small safes of various sizes, 
ranging from two and one-half by four and three-quarters inches 
to twenty by twenty-four inches. They are uniformly twenty-three 
inches deep. There are also storage rooms for pictures, silver ware, 
and jewelry. 

The directors of the institution are Charles E. Hendrickson, 
William D. Howland, Abbott P. Smith, Benjamin F. Brownell. 
Savory C. Hathaway, Lot B. Bates, Stephen A. Brownell, Standish 
Bourne, Frederic Taber, John W. Macomber, Lemuel LeBaron 
Holmes, and George C. Hatch. 

The officers are as follows : 

President — Charles E. Hendrickson. 

Vice presidents — William D. Howland, Abbott P. Smith. 
Cashier — Edmund W. Bourne. 
Secretary — Edward T. Tucker. 

Executive committee — William D. Howland, John \\ . Macom- 
ber, Lemuel LeBaron Holmes, Standish Bourne, Abbott P. Smith. 

The New Bedford Cooperative Bank, or loan association, was 
organized July 8, 1881, chartered three days later, and commenced 
business August 19. On- the first night $374 ^vas paid in. The 
membership has increased from forty or fifty to six hundred eight and 
the total amount paid in has been $i90,479-45- The authorized cap- 
ital is $1 ,000,000. Over twelve hundred books have been issued and 
five hundred three loans have been placed in sums ranging from 
twenty dollars to five thousand dollars. The bank has paid an 
average profit of 6.V per cent. There are now one hundred torty- 
three real estate loans, aggregating in amount $167,148.90, and the 
value of the first series of shares is now $111 .02 . The by-laws have 
been amended from time to time so that shares in the first hve series 
may be withdrawn without loss of profits. The present officers are 
as follows : 

President — Isaac W. Benjamin. 
Vice president — George R. Stetson. 
Secretary — Charles R. Price. 
Treasurer — Gideon B. Wright. 



250 NEW BEDFORD. 



Directors — Benjamin Anthony, Oliver P. Brightman, Jasper W. 
Brale}', Jethro C. Brock, John L. Gibbs, Henry Howard, Samuel 
Jones, Samuel S. Paine, Rufus A. Soule, John A. Bates, Benjamin 
F. Brownell, Charles S. Paisler, David W. Holmes, Andrew R. 
Palmer, Stephen A. Brownell. 

Auditors — Isaac B. Tompkins, Jr., Frederic Taber, Daniel W. 
Cory. 

i\ttorney — Hosea M. Knowlton. 



METAL WORKERS. 

The metal workintr industries of the citv are varied and inter- 
esting, while some of them are exceptional in their character. 

The New Bedford Copper Company was one of the first, as it is 
one of our representative, branches of industrial enterprise. The 
company was incorporated in i860 with a paid up capital of $250,000 
and it manufactures copper and yellow metal sheathing, copper roll- 
ers for calico printers, yellow metal bolts, and cut nails, braziers", 
dimension, and bolt copper, etc. The works are situated on the east 
side of North Front street and the main rolling mill is two hundred 
fifty by one hundred feet. There is also a building one hundred 
seventy-five by sixty teet for mixing metals and refining copper, and 
office, store rooms, carpenter and blacksmith shops, and a brick yard, 
covering an area of three hundred by twentv-five feet. The front- 
age of the property is three hundred feet and it extends easterl}'' to the 
river, a distance of about three hundred fifty feet. It is proposed 
to fill in to the channel, a distance of about one hundred fifty feet 
farther. The mill is equipped with an engine of three hundred 
horse power, one boiler twenty-six feet long and seven feet in diameter, 
and eight smaller boilers placed over the reheating turnaces. 

Lake Superior copper is used exclusively in the manufacture of 
sheet copper and print rollers, and only the best materials are 
employed in the manufacture of all goods. This copper is regarded 
as the best produced in tiie w^orld, and it reaches the factory in cakes 
weighing about two hundred pounds each. Yellow metal is a mix- 
ture of sixty parts copper and forty parts zinc spelter and in its man- 
ufacture five melting and nine refining furnaces are used. There are 
huge rollers of tremendous strength, through which the metal is 
rolled, and the print rollers are turned in lathes, built expressly for the 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



253 



purpose. There are only two manufactories in the country where 
print rollers are manufactured and the works in this city take the lead 
in this industry. The company makes a specialty of Muntz yellow 
metal bolts for piston rods for marine engines, and has lately gone 
into the manufacture of solder irons, with most satisfactory results. 

The number of hands employed is about one hundred, and the 
officers of the company are as follows : 

President — Gilbert Allen. 

Treasurer and general manager — William H. Mathews. 

Directors — Gilbert Allen, William J. Rotch, Edward D. Man- 
dell, Charles W. Cliftbrd, George R. Phillips, Humphrey W. Seabury, 
and Frederick S. Allen. 

To the Morse Twist Drill & Machine Company belongs the 
unusual distinction of having founded an entirely new industry. It 
was in 1861 that Samuel A. Morse conceived the idea of the manu- 
facture of his famous drill, and he started an experimental shop at 
East Bridgewater. The old tashioned drill pierced a piece of iron 
about as one would bore a bit of pine with the point of a pen knife. 
Twist drills for boring metals had been occasionally made by tiling or 
milling spiral channels around a piece ot steel wire, or more com- 
monly by twisting a flattened piece of steel, but the cutting lip of such 
drills was generally on a concave line and the outer point was quite 
likely to break. Mr. Morse employed a milling tool which produced 
a straight lip, which cut its way through metal like an auger, doing 
better work, with less expenditure of power. The liability to injury 
was also less. 

Mr. Morse had so far perfected his idea in 1863 as to secure a 
patent in that 3^ear. As he was unable to secure sufficient capital in 
East Bridgewater to meet the orders for his drills, in June of 1864, 
having interested capital in this city, he moved here and a shop thirty 
by sixty feet in area, two stories high, was constructed tor his occu- 
pancy. 

The company of stockholders organized with Nathan Chase as 
president. Mr. Chase had been a successful merchant, and was then 
considered, as now, a shrewd business man. He worked devotedly 
in the interest of the company, and without his correct management at 
the inception, it is doubtful whether the undertaking would have been 
so complete a success. The board of directors elected twenty-tour 
years ago still supervises the enterprise. The original members were 



254 



NEW BEDFORD. 



Thomas M. Stetson, Gilbert Allen, Frederick S. Allen, Nathan 
Chase, and Andrew G. Pierce. Mr. Chase continued as president 
and manager for three years, and Mr. Pierce occupied the former 
position for a short period. In 1868 Mr. Chase retired and Edward 
S. Taber was chosen president and treasurer and added to the board 
of directors. The original capital was $30,000. This was subse- 
quently increased to$6o,ooo, again to $90,000, and in 1871 to$i5o,ooo. 
In the latter year the company absorbed the Standard Tool Company, 
of Newark, N. J., after a year or two of patent litigation. 

The large success of the corporation commenced about the years 
1872 and 1873. The artisans of the country had been educated to 
the use of their tools, and a large foreign as well as home trade had 
been built up, regular agencies being maintained in London and Paris. 
This was due to the superiority of the manufacture. All of the tools 
made here were manufactured upon a uniform and absolutely accurate 
system of gauges. Every variety of drill, even when as fine as a 
sewdng machine needle, was, and is, made exactly alike, differing not 
the breadth of the finest hair in any of its dimensions. 

New buildings were added. About the year 1876, the capital 
was made $600,000. The original wooden shop was removed and a 
handsome and substantial brick structure was erected in its place. 
The buildings of the corporation now^ occupy the larger part of the 
square bounded by Bedford, Fourth, Wing, and Fifth streets. The 
main factory on Fourth street is nearly four hundred feet long and 
three stories high. This is backed by a blacksmith shop, hardening 
and tempering, annealing, stock, and store rooms. The area of the 
entire floor space is over sixty-eight thousand square feet. 

The corporation employs about two hundred lift}' operatives 
and the annual product aggregates about $400,000 in value. About 
two hundred fifty tons of steel stock are annually consumed. 

The tools of the company are used throughout the world and are 
now considered indispensable in all modern metal working shops. 
The original catalogue, a card about two and one-half by three inches 
in size, modestl}^ mentioned the entire product, but it has now grown 
to a book of thirty pages. 

To the manufacture of drills has been added the making of 
chucks, which hold such tools as a drill, and connect them with the 
spindle of a lathe ; reamers, which are used for enlarging drill holes 
and making a "true" bore, that is, making its calibre precisely the 



256 NEW BEDFORD. 



same in every part ; taps, which are tools used in cutting the thread 
of nuts ; milling cutters, dies, drill grinding machinery, and, in fact, 
all the tools required in machine making establishments. 

The superintendent of the factory is George R. Stetson. The 
operatives employed by the company are largely men who were born 
in this city and educated in the public schools. They are well paid 
and constitute an exceptionally intelligent and effective body of 
workmen. The corporation is remarkable for keeping its men in its 
employ a long time. There are now employed in the factory men 
who were hired at the start, while a large proportion of the workmen 
have had terms of service exceeding ten years. 

Although the works of the American Tack Company are located 
in Fairhaven, yet it is essentially a New Bedford industry, being 
owned almost entirely, and controlled, by residents of this city. The 
company was organized April 3, 1867, with J. A. Beauvais, of this 
city, as treasurer, and Charles E. Brigham, who was president, Lewis 
Rice, and L. L. Tower, of Boston, Oliver P. Brightman, of New Bed- 
ford, and George F. Tripp, of Fairhaven, as directors. The company 
succeeded to the property and trade of the American Nail Machine 
Company, a corporation organized in Boston three years previously. 
The corporation had bought the patent rights of an automatic feeding 
nail machine, intending to build machines for sale, and also to operate 
them in making cut nails. But the west was at that time just enter- 
ing largely into the manufacture of cut nails, and as it could obtain 
coal and iron at cheaper prices than they could be procured in the east, 
it was evident that the eastern manufacturers could not successfully 
compete in this industry. 

It was therefore decided to engage in the manufacture of tacks 
and small nails, which would not require the outlay for a rolling mill 
and for which the plate could be obtained as cheaply in the east as in 
the west. 

The company bought the Rodman property at Fairhaven, and 
its machinery was moved from Boston in 1865, under the supervision 
of Cyrus D. Hunt, the present superintendent of the works. In 1866 
the works went into operation, and in May of the following year, the 
American Nail Machine Company sold its property to the new cor- 
poration, the American Tack Company. The latter company also 
bought the business, trade, and good will of Jude Field, of New York, 
w^ho had succeeded Arby Field, who started in business in New^ York 
in 1824. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



257 



This purchase made the American Tack Company the successor 
of one of the oldest tack manufacturers in this country, and secured 
to it a good export trade, which had been built up by the Fields. 
In 1870 the company bought of M. G. Williams, of Raynham, the 
inventor and original manufacturer of chisel-pointed boat nails, his 
machinery and trade, and in 1875 ^^^ company purchased the machin- 
ery and business of M. M. Rhodes & Sons, of Taunton, manufac- 
turers of lining and saddle nails and tufting buttons. Finally, in 1880, 
the machinery and business of the Star Tack Company, of New York, 
was purchased and removed to Fairhaven. 

The company employs one hundred twenty hands, operating one 
hundred forty tack and nail machines, and consumes from twelve 
hundred to fifteen hundred tons of metal per year, making more than 
four thousand kinds and varieties of tacks and nails, and producing 
goods each year to the value of two hundred thousand dollars. 

Within two years, soft steel has supplanted iron in the manufac- 
ture of tacks and nails. This metal, being stit^er and stouter than 
iron, is destined to supersede it entirely. To work it, however, 
heavier and stouter machinery is required, and the company has 
renewed its plant in this respect to enable it to profit by the change 
and supply its customers with the best of goods. 

The capital stock of the company was originally $50,000, but 
has been increased to $125,000. The board of directors at present 
consists of J. Arthur Beauvais, Oliver P. Brightman, Loum Snow, 
Jr., and E. W. Hervey, of New Bedford, and Cyrus D. Hunt, of 
Fairhaven. J. Arthur Beauvais is the president. 

The business of Bowker & Tripp, machinists and manufacturers 
of steam engines, shafting, and their appurtenances, was established 
in the brick block at the corner of North and North Water streets, in 
1874, the firm at that time being composed of Edward E. Bowker 
and Robert R. Sherman. In 1878, Mr. Sherman retired, and Frank 
S. Tripp took his place. They are the patentees and sole manu- 
facturers of the Matchless steam and fire regulator, and Matchless 
double action damper, also of the single diagonal and the oval 
diagonal dampers for all kinds of flues and chimneys. Over one 
thousand are now in use. This firm also manufactures Mitchell's 
adjustable socket wrench, speed lathes, and machine screws tor 
special work, and does repairing of all kinds. They are manutac- 
turers' agents for restarting injectors, engine and speed indicators, 



258 NEW BEDFORD. 



steam and pressure gauges, pop safety valves, chime whistles, 
asbestos valves, plug cocks, return traps, and a full line of the most 
approved steam appliances. The works are supplied throughout 
with the best machinery, tools, and appliances, propelled by a thirty 
horse power steam engine, and a large force of skilled workmen is 
constantly employed. The members of the firm, Messrs. Edward 
E. Bowker and Frank S. Tripp, are both practical machinists of 
large experience. 

The Acushnet Iron Company, Augustus Swift, agent, estab- 
lished the foundr}-, pattern and machine shop in the rear of Bowker 
& Tripp's building, about eight years ago. Twelve men are em- 
ployed. 

The New Bedford Boiler & Machine Company was established 
by H. A. Holcomb and Joseph S. Lewis in 1874. "^he buildings at 
24 Front street cover an area of a quarter of an acre and from 
twenty to fifty men are employed. The works are supplied with a 
thirty-five horse power steam engine and the firm manufactures boil- 
ers of every size and description, including stationary, portable, 
marine, and locomotive boilers, also machinery of all kinds. The 
firm has made the boilers used in several of our largest mills and 
makes a specialty of a patented steam heating apparatus, which is in 
successful operation in many of our public buildings and finest private 
residences. 

Babbitt & Wood, 32 Commercial street, are the successors to 
the business of the Union Boiler Company. They manufacture 
boilers of all kinds and a patent steam heater, and are also engaged 
in steam fitting and the mill supply business. The firm employs 
from ten to thirty men, and first engaged in business in 1880, at 27 
Front street. Their business proved so successful that the present 
building occupied by them was erected. 

The New Bedford Iron Foundry, located at the corner of Water 
and Coffin streets, was founded by F. & I. C. Taber & Co., who 
were then located at the corner of Fourth and Bedford streets. The 
firm of Taber & Grinnell succeeded to the business in 1847 and in 
1859 Joseph G. Grinnell became the sole proprietor. Edmund Grin- 
nell, who now conducts the business, assumed control in 1873. The 
capacity of the works is twenty tons of castings per day, and ninety 
men are employed. The works make a specialty of light and heavy 
machinery and building castings. Among other work the past year, 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 261 



two columns weighing ten tons each have been cast for the Hemmen- 
way building, School street, Boston, and building casts for the Lon- 
don Manufacturing Company, Ludlow, Mass., the Pacific mills, 
Lawrence, Hargrave, Sagamore, Border City, and King Philip mills, 
Fall River, Suffolk county court house, Boston, Walter Hastings 
Hall and Mutual Fire Insurance Company's buildings, Davoll Rubber 
Company, and Billings Brothers' bleachery. Providence, and many 
other buildings. 

The Strange Forged Drill Company has been organized for the 
purpose of manufacturing twist drills under the patents of John F. 
Strange, who has already manufactured them to some extent. The 
officers of the company are as follows : 

President — Edwin Dews. 

Clerk and treasurer — Henry M. Knowles. 

Directors — Thomas M. Hart, Moses C. Swift, William M. Bates, 
Joseph C. Knowles, Jolin P. Knowles, Jr., Edwin Dews, Henry M. 
Knowles. 

The firm of Luscomb & Corey, comprising Frederick W. Lus- 
comb and David A. Corey, is engaged in the manufacture of special 
machinery at No. 13 Rodman street and now employs seven hands. 
Business was commenced in October, 1885. The firm is interested, 
with George D. Brown and James F. Hammond, in the Mechanics 
Manufacturing Company, which manufactures novelties, prominent 
among which is the "Electric" patent pruner, and a shawl strap and 
bundle carrier. 

Giflbrd's brass foundr\', on Front street, was founded in i860 and 
is now managed by Capt. James E. Stanton. A two-story building, 
fifty by sixty feet in area, is occupied, equipped with modern mechani- 
cal appliances and machinery operated by steam. The concern man- 
ufactures to order all kinds of work in brass and copper, and is also 
engaged in the plumbing business. Ten men are employed. 

Gardner & Southwick (Reuben M. Gardner and Arnold W. 
Southwick) succeeded to the business of Andrew Craigie in 1872. 
They are engaged in brass moulding and founding and carrying on 
the business of coppersmiths at No. 58 Middle street. Five men are 
employed. 

The New Bedford Machine Shop is located in the foundry build- 
ing at the corner of Coffin and South Water streets. Ten men are 
employed and a general jobbing business is done. Jonathan Bourne 
has been the owner of the shop since 1864. 



262 NEW BEDFORD. 



SHOE MANUFACTURERS. 



Hathaway, Soule & Harrington, whose large factory is on North 
Second street, at the corner of North street, are the largest manu- 
facturers of men's, boys', and youths' fine shoes in New England 
selling direct to the retail trade. They manufacture hand sewed, 
Goodyear welt, and machine sewed goods, making a specialty of 
Goodyear welt, and claim in this line to lead all competitors. They 
have branch factories at Middleboro and Campello, where they man- 
ufacture medium grades of shoes. Their business has gradually 
increased and in 1888 their sales exceeded eight hundred thousand 
dollars. Like many of our most important industries the business 
was started in a very small way. Savory C. Hathaway began manu- 
facturing shoes in Jul}', 1865, on Hillman street, with two employes. 
Three months later Rufus A. Soule became a partner and the firm 
was known as Hathaway & Soule. In December, 1865, they moved 
to the brick building on Pleasant street, corner of Mechanics lane. 
At first the firm occupied one floor only, but soon leased the entire 
building and finally a wooden addition at the north was built and 
occupied. Then the industry outgrew this building and in 1874 '^ 
four story brick building, thirty-two by one hundred feet in area, was 
erected by the firm at the corner of North Second and North streets. 
In 1876, Herbert A. Harrington was admitted into partnership and 
the firm name became Hathaway, Soule & Harrington. They have 
from time to time added to their factor\- until their present floor surface 
exceeds twenty-five thousand square feet. The firm now employs in 
the New Bedford factory two hundred eighty hands and it is one of 
the best equipped factories in the country. Their product is one 
hundred seventy-five thousand pairs annually. The capacity of tiie 
Middleboro and Campello factories is two hundred fifty thousand pairs. 

The firm employs twelve travelling salesmen and has customers 
in nearly every city and town in the United States and Canada. It 
has salesrooms and oflices at No. 280 Devonshire street. Boston, and 
at No. 128 Duane street, New York city. 

The firm is very proud of the class of workmen it employs and 
many men have gone out from this factory to accept positions of high 
responsibility in shoe manufactories elsewhere. 



INDUSTRIAI. AND FINANCIAL. 263 



The firm of Tinkham, Reed & Gifford, boot and shoe manufac- 
turers, occupies the three story brick block numbered 19 and 21 North 
Second street. Fifty hands are employed in this factory. The pres- 
ent partnership of Elisha B. Tinkham, Gustavus L. Reed, and Jesse 
Giftbrd was formed fourteen years ago. The members of the firm 
all followed the shoemaker's trade in New Bedford and their practi- 
cal experience thus gained, coupled with their businesslike and pro- 
gressive management of their factor3% have given their manufactures 
an enviable name. Ladies', misses', and children's shoes are made. 
The firm turns out the McKay sewed shoe and has lately introduced 
the Goodyear, being one of the first factories in New England to 
introduce the Goodyear welt machine for ladies' shoes. The propri- 
etors are thoroughly up to the times. Their goods bear the best of 
reputations for wear and fit and are alwavs in demand. Conse- 
quently the hands employed are busy nearly all the year round and 
the factory is never shut down but for a very short period. The firm 
caters altogether to the retail trade, dealing directly with its customers 
at the office and salesroom, 107 Duane street, New York city. It 
ships seventy-five thousand dollars' worth of goods annually. 

C. F. Watkins manufactures men's shoes at 92 Pleasant street, 
where he commenced business in 1878. He employs from eight to 
twelve men and manufactures about sixty pairs a week. 

Schuler Bros, manufacture men's shoes for their own trade and 
the general market, at 76 Purchase street, and have engaged in the 
business for six years. They employ eleven men and manufacture 
between seventy-five and one hundred fifty pairs a week. 



WOOD WORKERS. 



The business of Greene & Wood dates back to the town's earlier 
history, having been originated by Samuel Leonard in the year 1835. 
He started in the lumber business at that time at the bend of Clark's 
cove, near the present bath houses of the street railway company, 
and for many years all the timber was brought up into the cove and 
rafted ashore. After a few years he built the present Leonard's wharf, 
on the water front, and the business was removed there, and there 
it has since remained. At about this time, Samuel Leonard's son, 



264 NEW BEDFORD. 



Henry T. Leonard, took the business, forming a partnership with. 
Augustus A. Greene, a prominent young carpenter who had come 
here from Providence to build the houses now occupied by Mrs. 
Abraham H. Howland and Mrs. Joseph C. Delano, and the homestead 
of the late Joseph Grinnell. Under the firm style of Leonard & 
Greene the business was continued until 1848, when Henry T. Wood 
bought out Henry T. Leonard, and the style of the firm became 
Greene & Wood. Under this name it has remained for over forty 
years, and in one location has carried on the business with success. 
Mr. Greene retired in 1872 and Henry T. Wood died in 1883. The 
present firm consists of William G. Wood, who entered it in 1861, 
and George R. Wood and Edmund Wood, who were admitted soon 
after the death of their father, in 18S3. The firm now owns and occu- 
pies seven and one-half acres of land on the water front, including a 
wharf, and the entire area is utilized in their business. They intend 
to have on hand constantly a complete assortment of building lumber, 
and this necessitates the carrying of a very large stock and sufficient 
room to sort it and pile it conveniently for customers. This concern 
is the only one in the city dealing in southern pitch pine timber, 
plank, and boards. This the firm lands on its wharf direct from the 
south in vessels. Several large storage buildings contain the finished 
lumber and hard woods. 

With a progressive spirit, the firm has extended its business to 
meet the changing character of the trade. Its planing and wood 
working mill has been tripled in size during the last three years by 
the introduction of new machinery' to meet the growth of the busi- 
ness. This mill was burned a few months ago and almost wholh'^ 
destroyed, but a greater has arisen from its ashes, and, with the newest 
machinery and best appliances for fine and accurate work, is now 
nearly completed. It occupies an area of one hundred twenty by one 
hundred thirty-eight feet, two stories high, and is admirabl}' adapted 
for handling lumber rapidly and economically. The dry kiln is a 
separate building forty by eighty feet, two stories high. Here the 
Sturtevant hot blast dr3'ing process is employed, with a separate 
engine. Both these new buildings are well protected against another 
fire by Grinnell automatic sprinklers and other appliances used by 
our cotton mills. In this mill all kinds of planing, sawing, and turn- 
ing are done, some very heavy machines being employed. In 
addition to the manufacture of mouldings for house finish, a large 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



265 



business is done in the highest grade of hard wood picture frame 
work. The firm employs about forty -five men. 

One of the innovations is a separate portable rig for dressing the 
heavy hard pine beams and plank used in constructing cotton mills, 
and for two successive years the firm has had this in operation in 
other cities. It is the custom to set it up close to the rising walls of the 
new cotton mill and build a temporary building over it. 

Last year the firm decided to engage in a wholly new industry. 
It bought out the New Bedford Spool and Bobbin Company and 
removed the plant to its own mill. This became the nucleus of an 
enterprise which will probably be an extensive one. The original 
plant has been already quadrupled in its scope and capacity. And, 
although seriously retarded by the fire, it is now well under way filling 
orders, not only for New Bedford but for other cities. The firm is now 
fitted to manufacture all kinds of spools and bobbins, etc., used in 
cotton and woolen mills, cordage works, and similar factories. 

The two upper stories of the large three story stone building, 
corner of Coflin and South Water streets, are occupied by Charles 

F. Borden, pattern and model 
maker, general wood worker, and 
manufacturer of water wheels. 
The business was established 
as early as 1863, by Nathan S. 
Ellis and Matthias Hathaway, 
in a room thirty feet square, in 
the building now occupied by Mr. 
Borden. The firm manufactured 
water wheels exclusively. In 
1870 Calvin Bonney took the 
place of Mr. Hathaway in the 
firm, and, on the death of Mr. 
Bonney, about four years after- 
wards, Nelson Collins became 
associated with Mr. Ellis. Next, 
E. R. Bowie bought Mr. Ellis' 
interest and in turn sold out to 
Mr. Borden, and in 1880 the firm of Collins & Borden was organized. 
In 1884 Mr. Borden became sole proprietor. Two floors, one hun- 



TiiiiiSlii''' 




266 



NEW BEDFORD. 




dred by fifty feet in area, and an ell, thirty by thirty feet in area, 
are occupied, and fourteen men are employed. 

The most skillful mechanics are hired and samples of the wood 
finishing turned out by the firm 
may be seen in the upper drug 
store of C. H. Church, in the 
rooms of the Safe Deposit and 
Trust Company, and in the 
reading room of the Free Pub- 
lic Library. Wooden mantels 
in hard and soft wood are 
manufactured to order, and carving, planing, jig sawing, and turning 
are also done. A specialty is made of the manufacture of Tremont 
turbine water wheels, which are simple in construction and are built 
upon true hydraulic principles, utilizing all the water, thus rendering 
them particularly desirable for saw mills, box factories, grist mills, 
or any situation where the stream is small. Gearing, shafting, and 

pulleys are also furnished at short 
Mr. Borden has recently 
to his enterprise stair building 
in all its branches. 
Possibly most people 
do not know that stair 
building has of late 
years become a dis- 
tinct art, enlisting the 




brains and hands of 
the most skilled de- 
signers and workmen. 
Some recent stair 
cases are marvels of 
beauty and ingenuity, 
forming notable feat- 
ures of the buildings 
in which they are 
placed. Mr. Borden 
builds them in every pattern, of many varieties of w^ood, and at every 
possible grade of cost, from the designs of others or from designs 
of his own. He also manufactures and keeps in stock fancy and 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



267 



plain newels, square and turned, and balusters and rails. Or, he will 
make them to order of special patterns. Furniture is also made 
to order, and cabinets, brackets, easels, and picture frames are 
manufactured and kept in stock to some extent. Mantels, of which 
Mr. Borden makes a specialty, and of which he has designed several 
handsome patterns, are kept in stock. 

Frederick A. Sowle, who is now the largest manufacturer of 
house finishings in this section, commenced business in a small 
way in 1873, at the southwest corner of William and Bethel streets. 
At this time he made refrigerators and sold doors and windows. 
Soon afterwards he moved to more ample quarters on Middle 
street, where he commenced the manufacture of window frames and 
house finishings, having the machine work done at the different 
mills. After a year, however, his business had increased to such an 
extent that new quarters were again necessary, and he bought the 
old barn on the Gammons property on Elm street, raised it up and 
fitted a factory with steam power and the most improved machinery. 
Two years later, to keep pace with a thriving and still increasing 
business, he built a large addition, carrying the factory out to the 
street. At this time about twenty men were employed. In 1884 the 
mill was entirely destroyed by fire. As Mr. Sowle watched the 
flames, he remarked, "Well, the old man isn't dead yet," and he 
verified the statement made on that occasion. A four story brick 
structure, fifty by one hundred feet in area, and supplied with ample 
steam power, has replaced the wooden mill, and thirty men are now 
employed. Mr. Sowle now manufactures and deals in doors, blinds, 
sashes, window and door frames, mouldings, brackets, stair rails, 
newel posts, and balusters, and gives especial attention to get- 
ting out inside and outside house finish. Turning and scroll 
sawing is done and western lumber and hard woods are sold. Mr. 
Sowle is the largest dealer in window and plate glass in this part of 
the state and he recently furnished the plate glass for the Wing build- 
ing, the largest plates in the city, which were especially imported for 
Mr. Sowle. Mr. Sowle ships goods as far as Florida, Virginia, and 
New York, and his market comprises this city, the Vineyard, Cape, 
and surrounding towns. For three years, Mr. Sowle's two sons 
were engaged with him and he then conducted the hardware and 
lumber business in addition to his factory. The former business he 
has sold to Pierce & Sowle, the latter Frederick L. Sowle, being 



268 NEW BEDFORD. 



Mr. Sovvle's eldest son, and Nathaniel P. Sowle now conducts the 
lumber business on City wharf. 

William H. Washburn manufactures window and door frames, 
cutters, rakes, mouldings, house trimming and finishing, balus- 
ters, brackets, newels, and shutters, and gives particular attention to 
planing, turning, scroll and circular sawing, pattern making, and all 
kinds of jobbing. He also deals extensively in pine and hard wood 
lumber. The business was established in 1875 by Messrs. Perry & 
Washburn, and the present proprietor assumed the sole control in 
January, 1883. The factory is at Nos. 213, 215, and 217 North 
Water street, is two stories high and forty by one hundred fifty 
feet in area. It is equipped with special wood working machinery 
and operated by a seventy-five horse power engine. Twenty-one 
men are regularly employed. 

William A. Tillinghast succeeded the firm of Tillinghast & 
Terry in the general lumber and planing business, about a year ago. 
The mill is located at No. 172 North Water street and there is a 
wharf connected with the property. In addition to the lumber yard 
here, Mr. Tillinghast also maintains a yard on Fish island. 

David J. Russell carries on the business of cabinet making at 
No. II Rodman street. His best work is remarkable for fine work- 
manship and for the beauty of the wood carving. 

Blinds and window and door frames are also manufactured to 
some extent, and particular attention is given to planing, scroll saw- 
ing, and jobbing, by Mosher & Brownell, A. W. Alien & Son, Stur- 
tevant & Sherman, and Brightman & Washburn. 



CARRIAGE MANUFACTURERS. 



A prominent industry is the manufacture of fine carriages, and 
although a number of concerns are engaged in the business, only the 
highest grade work is done. 

The largest factory is that of George L. Brownell, on Cannon 
street. A specialty is made here of the manufacture of fine hearses, 
coaches, and undertakers' wagons, but light carriages of every kind 
are also made at the factory. 

At the age of seventeen, Mr. Brownell, who was a Westport boy, 



o 




270 NEW BEDFORD. 



was apprenticed to Ayres R. Marsh, in New Bedford, to learn the 
trade of carriage making. After four years Mr. Brownell bought the 
business of his employer, and in 1846 an increasing business led him 
to make extensive additions to his shop. In 1853 he built a new shop 
on Third street. At about this time he commenced the manufacture 
of hearses, and in 1863 further accommodations were required and he 
bought the stone building at the corner of Acushnet avenue and Can- 
non streets, formerly occupied by Samuel Leonard & Sons. This 
building was refitted and occupied by him on the 12th of November. 
A public dedication was arranged by Mr. Brownell's friends and about 
fifteen hundred people were present. 

This building was a two and a half story structure of stone, one 
hundred by sixty feet in area. A growing business has rendered 
additional buildings necessary. First an addition w^as built extend- 
ing from the main structure a distance of one hundred thirty feet on 
Cannon street. It is two stories high and thirty feet wide. Then 
a second wing w^as built and two large buildings were erected in the 
yard, the entire buildings covering an area of seventeen thousand one 
hundred sixty feet, and finally a warehouse was built on Acushnet 
avenue, sevent3^-five by forty feet in area and three stories high. The 
factory is now one of the largest in the country and gives employment 
to between fifty and one hundred men. Giles G. Barker is the super- 
intendent of the factory. 

The firm of Brownell, Ashley & Co. comprises J. Augustus 
Brownell and Joshua B. Ashley, and they manufacture fine grades of 
carriages of all varieties, excepting coaches. The business was 
started nearly seventy years ago by Joseph Brownell, the father of J. 
Augustus Brownell, in a building at the northeast corner of Fourth 
and Spring streets. About sixty years ago he moved his business to 
the two story stone building forty by one hundred feet in area, on the 
southeast corner of the same street, and about thirty-eight years ago 
the present proprietors were admitted to the firm. In 1854 '^ reposi- 
tory one hundred by fifty feet in area, and four stories high, was built 
on Fourth street, next south of the building on the corner. This 
building was occupied by H. G. O. Cole as a carriage manufactory 
for a few years, when Brownell, Ashley & Co. took possession, Mr. 
Cole moving to the factory on Acushnet avenue, then Third street, in 
the building vacated by George L. Brownell. The number of men 
employed is twenty-seven. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



273 



At the carriage manufactory of Clarence Lowell twenty-four 
men are employed, and fine light carriages are made. Mr. Lowell 
commenced manufacturing carriages on Middle street in 1874 ^"^ in 
1880 moved into the factory formerly occupied by IL G. O. Cole, 
and previous to him by George L. Brovvnell, on Acushnet avenue, 
which he now occupies. This building covers an area nearlv ninetv- 
six by ninety-five feet and in a few months Mr. Lowell proposes to 
tear down the present factory and erect on the site a four storv brick 
building with basement which he will fit as a model carriage manu- 
factory. Between thirty and forty men will be employed in the new 
factory. 

The carriage making business of James R. Forbes & Co. was 
started in the spring of 1863, when Henry H. Forbes and Ilenrv C. 
Sears bought the Elm street Methodist church at the corner of Elm 
street and Acushnet avenue, where the present firm is located, and 
commenced the manufacture of carriages. Mr. Forbes bought out 
Mr. Sears' share in the business after seven or eight years, and con- 
ducted it alone until 1874, when he was succeeded by Charles H. 
Forbes, who carried on the business until 1879, when it passed into 
the hands of James R. Forbes & Co. The firm builds every 
description of carriage, from a sulky to a coupe, and twenty men are 
employed. The patronage is almost entirely local. 

THE MANUFACTURE OF FERTILIZERS. 



The works of the Clark's Cove Guano Company are advanta- 
geousl}' and picturesquely situated on the west side of Clark's cove, 
and the property is extensive and valuable. 

The works are easily accessible. Vessels drawing sixteen feet of 
water can be handled at the docks and the dock room is ample to 
load or discharge two large vessels and several small vessels at the 
same time. The machinery includes three tubular boilers of about 
ninety horse power each, a Brown engine of one hundred seventy- 
five horse power, two large crushers for phosphate rock, mixers, and 
three hoisting engines. The works and docks are lighted by elec- 
tricity, furnished with a twenty light Ball machine, run by a Porter 
engine of twenty horse power. The buildings of the factory, outside 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



275 



of the houses, cover about one hundred thousand square feet. The 
sales of guano for the past three years have averaged over twenty- 
five thousand tons. 

The Bay State fertilizer, which leads all others used in this sec- 
tion, is a combination of phosphate rock, large quantities of animal 
bone and fish treated with acid, muriate and sulphate of potash, 
nitrate of soda, and kainit. These articles are seen piled in huge 
heaps upon the floors of the extensive storehouses. There are two 
varieties of the phosphate rock, one of which is known as "marsh 
rock." It is light in color and is dredged from the beds of South 
Carolina rivers. The other variety is drab in color and is found just 
under the soil on the river banks. 

The entire manufacture takes place in a four story building, in 
which all the machinery is located. On the first floor the rock is 
crushed, and there are five runs of mill stones which grind it to a 
powder. Forty or fifty tons of rock can be ground here in a day and 
the mill stones will stand but about four months of constant use. 
This rock is then carried in its pulverized condition to the fourth 
story by an elevator, constructed on the principle of a chain bucket 
pump. Here the rock and fish are placed in the mixers. The fish 
have previous!}' been boiled and pressed at the porgie factories, and 
the article which is used in the pulverizer is ground to a powder. 
The composition is treated with sulphuric acid and worked over in 
tanks by plows. Sometimes dried meat and blood from the western 
abattoirs are used instead of fish. From here, the mixture passes to 
the floor below, where it is placed in mixers with the other articles 
mentioned. It is then screened and the solid portion passes into a 
disintegrator where it is ground over and again passed through the 
mixing machine. Some of the ingredients are subjected to a drying 
process before mixing, and for this purpose an apartment has been 
constructed b}- which air is heated and dried, then cooled by passing 
through condensers, and, finally, when the temperature is reduced to 
seventy or eighty degrees, they are forced through the drying chamber 
by rapidly revolving fans. Finally, after leaving the mixer, the fertil- 
izer passes to the floor below, the second, where it is piled in a huge 
heap and a chemical process ensues. While this is in progress the 
interior of the heap becomes very hot. The fertilizer then passes to 
the ground floor, where it cools, when it is ready for shipment. 

As has been stated, this is the method of manutacturing the 



276 NEW BEDFORD. 



grade most popular in this vicinity. The fertilizer manufactured for 
the cotton growing states is made after a different formula. The 
elements are not required in so concentrated a form, and tartar pum- 
ice, the residuum in the manufacture of cream of tartar, is employed 
as an absorbent. Bone black, which is ground bone treated with 
acid, and other special fertilizers are also made. The fertilizer 
which goes a long distance is usually transported in bulk, but it is 
bagged on the premises for the local market. 

When the works were started the sulphuric acid used in the man- 
ufacture was brought to the works from New York in schooners pro- 
vided with lead-lined iron tanks. The rapid growth of the business 
compelled the company, in 1883, to establish an acid works in con- 
nection with the plant and two years later the capacity of the acid 
works was increased by large additions, so that now between ninety 
and one hundred tons of sixty-six acid can be manufactured weekly. 
The acid chambers are lined with sheet lead, while lead pans cover 
the floor area. Iron pyrites is burned in ovens and nitrate of soda is 
decomposed with sulphuric acid in a vat. The sulphurous fumes and 
the nitrous gas meet in a large pipe and pass into a tank in the 
towers in the acid chamber. This tank is filled with quartz and 
percolating through the silica is sulphuric acid. The quartz divides 
the gases, which absorb from the sulphuric acid flowing through it, 
and are cooled by it. The sulphuric acid gas is then conducted 
through pipes which connect the four condensing rooms. The liquid 
acid forms on the sides and flows into the pans, from which it is 
drawn. 

The wharf extends about two hundred fifty feet into the cove 
and there are brows running northerly and southerly, affording berths 
for a number of vessels at a time. There are tramways twenty-eight 
feet high, provided with cars into which cargoes are unloaded and 
thence carried to the various storage buildings. There are scales at 
convenient points and shutes extend from the tramway and lead into 
the building. Several hoisting engines are used in unloading vessels. 

The help is comfortably quartered in a three story boarding house 
and six cottages located on the premises. 

The corporation was chartered in 1881, with a capital stock of 
$100,000, and its product was first placed on the market in 1882. 
The paid up capital is now $800,000, the orignal sum having been 
augmented on several occasions as the business has developed. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 277 



The present officers of the company are as follows : 

President — Charles W. Plummer. 

Manager and treasurer — Vinal F. Hatch. 

Directors — Edward D. Mandell, Charles W. Clifford, William 
W. Crapo, William J. Rotch, Samuel Ivers, Charles W. Plummer, 
Edmund Grinnell. 

Superintendent — Browning Swift. 

Clerk of corporation — Samuel H. Cook. 

Chemist — C. C. Reed. 

General travelling agent — Silas P. Richmond. 

The company has offices in New York, Baltimore, Atlanta, and 

Portland. 

The raw material used is analyzed in a laboratory on the prem- 
ises, as is the product of the factory. A proof of the fertilizing per- 
centages is thus constantly obtained before the shipment of any 
portion compounded is authorized. The value of a fertilizer de- 
pends on three elements,— the ammonia, the phosphoric acid, and 
the phosphate which it contains. In these respects analysis proves 
the fertilizers made here equal to any in the market. 

The company also carries on factories at Atlanta, Americus, 
and Social Circle, all in the state of Georgia. These each have 
a capacity for making ten thousand tons of fertihzer yearly. In 
connection with the factories at Americus and Social Circle are 
cotton seed oil mills, using five thousand tons each of cotton seed 
annually. 

THE INSURANCE BUSINESS. 

Joseph S. Tillinghast was the pioneer insurance agent in New 
Bedford, and the agency which he founded is still vigorous and enter- 
prisincr. Mr. Tillinghast began business as an insurance agent on 
the loth of October, 1835, in an office on Union street, a short d.stance 
east of Second. Here, and in the stone building on North Water 
street recendy occupied by the Peirce & Bushnell Manutactunng 
Company, he remained until about twenty-five years ago, when he 
removed to the building at the southeast corner of Water and Hamil- 
ton streets, where his successors, Messrs. Tillinghast & Alden,yet 
Mr. Tillinghast died on the 26th of January, 1876. His 



e 



remam. 



278 NEW BEDFORD. 



son, Joseph Tillinghast, was immediately appointed agent of the 
companies represented by the agency, and on the ist of the following 
February formed a partnership with George N. Alden, who had been 
a clerk in the office since 1865. The agency now, as it always has, 
represents fire companies exclusively. At the time of its founder's 
death, he represented twenty-six leading companies. During his 
long career as an agent he had received in premiums one million 
dollars and had paid out in losses seven hundred thirteen thousand 
dollars. He had seen the failure or retirement from business of thirty- 
eight companies, for which he had received premiums of four hundred 
fifty thousand dollars and paid losses of three hundred twenty-five 
thousand dollars. The present firm of Tillinghast & Alden now 
represents twenty-six companies, all of which are among the foremost 
fire insurance companies of the world. 

The Bristol County Mutual Fire Insurance Company has its 
headquarters in the office of Messrs. Tillinghast & Alden, Mr. Alden 
being its secretary. It was organized in Taunton, being chartered 
February 29, 1829, and was removed to this city September 14, 1839, 
Joseph S. Tillinghast then being appointed its secretary. At his 
death George N. Alden was chosen secretary. The company is 
strictly a mutual company, insuring only the best class of risks, and 
has a highly honorable and successful career. On the 31st of Decem- 
ber, 1887, the date of the last annual report available, it had in force 
twentv-one hundred ninety-two policies, on property insured at 
$3,777,056. The losses for the preceding year amounted to only 
$1752.79. No assessment has been called since January, 1879. 

The present officers are : 

President — Jonathan Bourne. 

Directors — Jonathan Bourne, Joseph W. Cornell, Oliver P. 
Brightman, George F. Kingman, Isaac H. Coe, James Taylor, 
Thomas H. Knowles. 

Secretary and treasurer — George N. Alden. 

Samuel H. Cook, who has a particularly handsome office in the 
building of the National Bank of Commerce, has grown up in the 
marine insurance business. He entered the office of the Mutual 
Marine Insurance Company, in January, 1859, ^^ ^ clerk. On the 
expiration of that company's charter in 1861, it retired from business, 
and in 1863, the Ocean Mutual Insurance Company was organized to 
succeed it. Mr. Cook was appointed secretary of the Ocean com- 



INDUSTRIAI. AND FINANCIAL. 



279 



pany soon after its organization, to succeed William H. Taylor, who 
was made its president and filled the position until its affairs were 
closed. The great disaster to the whaleships of the Arctic fleet in 
the fall of 1871 crippled all the New Bedford companies, and as a 
result the Ocean Mutual, the Union Mutual, the Pacific Mutual, and 
the Commercial Mutual were all obliged to leave the field. Beside 
winding up the affairs of his own company, Mr. Cook performed a 
like service for the Commercial company. When the disaster came 
to the local marine insurance companies, Mr. Cook had already made 
arrangements with insurers in other cities and was prepared to meet 
the wants of the whaling interest. He at once established a marine 
insurance agency, to which, at the request of many of his patrons, 
he soon added fire and life insurance, and has since carried on an 
extensive business in all three branches. Mr. Cook represents fifteen 
leading American and foreign companies. He acts also as an adjuster 
of insurance, and is frequently called upon to render service in the 
capacity of an insurance expert. 

The firm of Lawrence Grinnell & Co., located at 60 North 
Water street, was established many years ago by the senior partner. 
Richard W. Grinnell was a member of the firm for a time, but he 
retired on the first of April, 1882, when Joshua C. Hitch succeeded 
him. Messrs. Grinnell and Hitch now conduct the business. This 
firm represents eighteen companies, embracing fire, marine, life, 
plate glass, and steam boiler insurance, and among those on its list 
are the largest fire insurance company and the largest life insurance 
company in the world. Especial attention is given to marine insur- 
ance, in the placing of which both members of the firm have had 
long experience. 

Hiram Van Campen established his agency in 1852, and it is 
now located at No. 15 North Water street. He represents eighteen 
companies, most of them being fire companies, but transacts some 
life and accident business. 

Thomas M. James established his fire insurance agency in 1865. 
He is located at No. 40 North Water street, and represents five com- 
panies. 

Ivory S. Cornish has a fire and life insurance business at the 
corner of William street and Second street, and Jonathan W. Ellis 
is a fire insurance a<rent. 



28o NEW BEDFORD. 



PRIVATE BANKING HOUSE. 



The banking house of Sanford & Kelley is located at 47 North 
Water street. Their rooms have about twenty-five hundred square feet 
of floor surface and are conveniently arranged and neatly furnished. 
The partners are Gardner T. Sanford and Charles S. Kelley. They 
do an investment business, are members of the Boston Stock Ex- 
change, and are stock auctioneers. They have a private telegraph 
wire connecting their oflice with that of their correspondents in Bos- 
ton, by which they have telegraphic communication with New York, 
Philadelphia, Chicago, and Providence. They were the first in this 
city to lease a private wire. The business was established in 1848 by 
the late Edward L. Baker. He sold out to Samuel P. Burt, his con- 
fidential clerk, in 1865. In 1875 Mr. Burt took as partners Mr. 
Sanford and Mr. Kelley, under the firm name of S. P. Burt & Co., 
Mr, Burt being located in Milwaukee, Wis. On the death of Mr. 
Burt, in the west in 1884, the surviving partners formed the present 
firm. 

THE COAL BUSINESS. 



The coal pockets of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron 
Company loom up conspicuously when the city is approached from 
the water front. The wharf and pockets are located at the foot of 
Walnut street and the plant was established in 1874-75. After being 
leased to several parties, possession and operation were resumed by 
the owners and builders in 1882 as a forwarding and distributing depot 
for the company's coals for the local mills and to inland dealers and 
manufacturers. The latter traffic is carried on through cars of the 
Old Colony Railroad Company to all points on its main branches and 
connections. 

The main pocket is two hundred ten feet long and forty-five feet 
high, with a capacity of seventy -two hundred tons. Vessels of the 
heaviest draft that can come into the harbor discharge at each side, 
by means of derricks, shears, and engines. 

The company's steamers, of seventeen hundred thirty tons, work 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 283 



four hatches at once, and discharge, ordinarily, in ten hours, although 
the work has been accomplished in seven and three-quarters hours. 

At the head of the north side of the dock is a shipping pocket 
one hundred feet long, where vessels of the same tonnage as the 
above can discharge either into cars, the pocket, or large storage 
bins. 

There are three of these bins, of hfty-three hundred, forty-two 
hundred, and seventy-five hundred tons, respectively, which are 
intended to hold the winter supply, when the weather renders uncer- 
tain the arrival of cargoes from the company's shipping points at 
Port Richmond, on the Delaware, and Point Liberty, New York 
harbor. 

The total storage capacity is twenty-six thousand tons. 

When unloading one of the company's large steamers, eight}'- 
six people are engaged on the premises. 

Much of the coal is brought here in barges, towed by powerful 
tugs, and in the largest schooners. The arrivals in 1887 were as fol- 
lows : 

Sailing vessels, 129 

Barges, 45 

Steamers, 24 

Total number of vessels, 198 

These vessels brought one hundred seventy thousand three 
hundred forty-nine tons of coal, which were shipped away on 
the cars. 

Charles W. Agard is the local superintendent, and the business 
has been developed to a large extent under his administration. 

The large business of Hart & Akin was established by John 
H. Perry about the year 1850. He started the coal trade on the 
wharf at the foot of Walnut street and also engaged in grinding 
paint. Soon afterward, George Wilson was admitted into partnership 
and the firm name then became John H. Perry & Co. During the 
war, the wharf at present occupied was bought of F. and G. R. 
Taber, and in 1866, Samuel C. Hart purchased Mr. Wilson's interest. 
In 1874, ^^' Perry retired and Francis T. Akin became the junior 
partner in the firm of Hart & Akin. At about this time a wood yard 
was added to the business. The company took possession at this 
time of the south wharf, which is five hundred fifty feet long and one 



284 NEW BEDFORD. 



hundred twenty feet wide. There are two lines of sheds upon it, 
each two hundred forty feet long, forty feet deep, and twenty feet 
high. A stationary boiler of twenty horse power, with two engines, 
is employed in unloading, and with two gangs and the facilities at 
the command of the firm it is able to discharge seven hundred 
tons from a vessel in ten hours. The company handles thirty or 
forty thousand tons of coal annually. The grinding of paint has 
been discontinued by the firm, but it still engages in the sale of paints 
and oils, as well as hay, straw, fertilizers, and naval stores. About 
fifty men are in the employ of the company. The firm also does 
a house, ship, and sign painting business with an office at No. 9 
North Water street. 

The coal business now conducted by David Duff' & Son (David 
and John Duff') antedates that of any other coal firm in the city, 
having been originally established by Capt. George Randall. The 
business was purchased of Parker & Haskell by the present firm 
about a year ago, and the facilities have since been enlarged by the 
erection of a pocket on Fish Island, one hundred twelve by thirty- 
eight feet in area, with a height of twenty-one feet between the floor 
and the run. This pocket is provided with a hoisting apparatus of an 
improved pattern and has a capacity of twenty-three hundred tons. 
The capacity of the other sheds on the island is about five thousand 
tons and the firm handles about ten thousand tons of coal annually. 
About twenty men are employed. 

The coal business of Albert W. Holmes, at Atlantic wharf, was 
established over thirty years ago, bv Joseph Cundall, who built the 
wharf. The business was subsequently carried on by Peleg S. Macy 
until 1869, when it passed into the hands of Josiah Holmes, Jr., who 
added to the business wood, hay, and straw departments. In 1884 
the present proprietor succeeded to the business of his father. 
The property occupied embraces over an acre and a half and the 
sheds, which are four hundred b}' forty-five feet in area, have been 
entirely rebuilt within a year. Mr. Holmes' business is increasing 
and he employs fifteen men. 

Temple S. Corson carries on the coal business on Front street, 
at the foot of Middle. The coal yard, at the head of this wharf, is 
seventy-five by two hundred feet in area, and is provided with sheds 
and pockets. He employs about fifteen men and handles between 
eight thousand and fifteen thousand tons of coal annually. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 287 



The coal business of Hathaway Brothers (Benjamin F. Hatha- 
wa}', Jr., and James L. Hathaway) was established by Benjamin F. 
Hathaway in December, 1865. The above firm succeeded Mr. 
Hathaway about a year ago. Ten men are employed and the retail 
trade ot the firm aggregates about eight thousand tons annually. 
The wharf and yard of the firm is next south of the Old Colony 
passenger station. 

Bates & Howard have been established in the coal business for 
about two years. Their yard is at the foot of Hill man street. 



GAS AND ELECTRICITY. 



In 1850 a company of gentlemen from Philadelphia, acting 
together with Messrs. James B. Congdon and Abraham H. Howland, 
obtained a state charter and the necessary city authority for supplying 
the city with gas, organizing with a capital of $50,000. Other citi- 
zens soon bought out the Philadelphia interest and a permanent 
organization was formed, with William C. Taber as president and 
James B. Congdon as treasurer, and the works were completed and 
the gas turned on February 14, 1853. As first erected the entire 
works occupied but a small part of the present situation on the water 
front at the foot of Madison, then called Bush street, and consisted 
only of a brick retort house, a small gas holder capable of holding 
thirty-five thousand cubic feet, and an office and coal shed. Suc- 
cessive enlargements were afterwards made, until the plant now covers 
over three acres and the storage capacity in the three holders is about 
two hundred thousand feet, with an annual sale of nearly fifty mill- 
ion. To meet these expenditures the capital stock was gradually in- 
creased up to the year 1888 to $225,000 and the entire works had been 
practically rebuilt. For over thirty years of the interval Messrs. 
Taber and Congdon had retained their respective positions, until the 
death of Mr. Congdon was followed in a year or two by the resignation 
of Mr. Taber, and Gilbert Allen was elected to serve in both positions. 
In March, 1888, permission was granted by the state gas commis- 
sion to enter upon the business of manufacturing and selling electric- 
ity for light and power, and the company acquired by purchase the 
plant and property of the New Bedford Electric Company, which 
had been furnishing arc lamps to the city from their station at 



288 NEW BEDFORD. 



the foot of School street. To meet the purchase and subsequent 
enlargements further issues of stock were authorized and the capital 
was increased to $300,000. In 1881 the office of the company was 
removed from the works to the second story of No. 71 William street 
and the gas compan}' undertook the sale and rental of gas stoves and 
fixtures. The manifest advantage of gas stoves was so quickly recog- 
nized that in 1886 larger quarters were found by hiring the store No. 
73 William street and opening a general sale store lor all kinds of 
gas apparatus, equipping the basement with all the apparatus for new 
and repair work in all kirids of gas fittings. To such an extent has 
this business grown that during the year 1888 fully six hundred 
stoves were rented and more than one hundred houses were piped for 
gas, requiring long additions to the street mains, which now extend 
about thirty miles in the streets. Much of this increased demand is 
due to the lower prices for the gas itself, which has gradually fallen 
from $3.50 net per thousand feet, when the company was first organ- 
ized, to $1.80 net, or, in a quantity of four thousand feet per month, 
to $1.50. Following the usual policy of the company it may be 
expected that further radical improvements now contemplated in the 
economical manufacture of gas will reduce the rates yet lower. After 
the company's accession of the electric plant this branch of the 
business was more full}' developed and four Westinghouse incandes- 
cent dynamos, with a capacity of twent^'-six hundred lamps ot 
sixteen-candle power, were successively added with the necessary 
engines, until the power plant is now rated at six hundred horse 
power. A new generator for supplying motive power and a divided 
arc circuit were installed and as the demand now grew greater than 
the capacity of the station, contracts were given out (and the building 
is almost completed) for an entirely new brick station to be placed 
on the gas works property with a capacity of twelve hundred horse 
power. As designed, this new building will be one hundred four- 
teen by eighty-three feet, of two stories, to contain seven boilers, and 
will be supplied with compound condensing engines and every advan- 
tage which experience can suggest for the economical and successful 
generation of electricity of any tension or voltage, either full arc, 
divided arc, incandescent, or motive power, — in any way, in short, 
in which electricity can be commercially supplied. The gas company 
has endeavored in all this to employ the best possible methods of 
manufacture and distribution and the best men it can obtain, and the 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 289 



practical result has demonstrated the success of the undertaking. In 
the distribution of its electric currents in all its wiring, of which it 
now has over seventy-live miles, it has not added to its original pur- 
chase one foot of any but the best insulating wires. At the beginning, 
the decision was made that all wires, both in the streets and the houses, 
should be so well protected that every source of danger should be as 
far as possible eliminated, — a decision which has won the hearty ap- 
probation of the insurance inspector and of the electrical engineers 
who have inspected the work. With the completion of the new works 
in the early spring of 1889 the company confidently expects to be able 
to manufacture electricity as efficiently and sell as cheaply as any other 
station similarly situated and with as much safety to the consumer 
as by any other system. The present officers of the company are 
Gilbert Allen, president and treasurer; Robert B. Taber, secretary, 
who has also charge of the electrical department. Gideon Wood has 
had charge as superintendent at the gas works for over thirty years, 
and Ellery R. Bassett is superintendent at the electric (School 
street) station. The entire force now numbers over seventy-five 
men. 

The Edison Electric Illuminating Company was organized in 
1884, but nothing was done until the following year, when the com- 
pany started with a capital stock of $50,000. Ground was broken 
for the station, which is of brick, two stories high, situated on Middle 
street, October 9, and lighting was commenced July 23, 1886, with 
five hundred or six hundred lamps connected. The total number of 
lamps now subscribed for is over five thousand. A dividend of two 
and one-half per cent, was paid the first year and the capital stock 
was doubled. In 1887 a dividend of 6 per cent, was paid on the 
increased capital. The plant includes three boilers, each of one 
hundred twenty-five horse power, four engines, of sixty, one hundred, 
one hundred twenty-five, and one hundred fifty horse power, respect- 
ively, and eight dynamos. There is a power system connected with 
the same wires. 

The present officers are as follows : 

President — John W. Macomber. 

Treasurer, clerk, and manager — Charles R. Price. 

Directors — Isaac W. Benjamin, Oliver P. Brightman, John J. 
Howland, William D. Rowland, Hosea M. Knowlton, John W. 
Macomber, Charles W. Plummer, Charles R. Price, and Thomas 
B. Wilcox. 



290 NEW BEDFORD. 



BAKERIES. 



The first patent bakery in New England was established by 
David A. Snell, who now carries on one of the largest establish- 
ments for the manufacture of plain and fancy crackers and cake 
Sfoods in Massachusetts. The business was established here in the 
fall of 1857, at which time the consumption of flour was three barrels 
a week. In the spring of 1858 he took as a partner Charles D. 
Capen and bought out Jacob B. Hadley, thus greatly increasing the 
business and making the consumption of flour thirty barrels weekly. 
In the fall of 1859, ^'"- Snell sold his interest in the business to his 
partner and established the first patent bakery in New England 
against the combined influence of the four shipbread bakers in the 
city. The war breaking out the following year, Mr. Snell made 
large contracts with the government for supplying army bread. In 
1867 the whaling business began to decline and, the war being over, 
the demand for shipbread became light. At this time Mr. Snell re- 
moved to the building at the northwest corner of William and Water 
streets, where he engaged in another branch of the business, the 
manufacture of plain and fancy crackers and cake goods. A build- 
ing about one hundred feet in area and three stories high is occu- 
pied, and the most improved machinery is used. Six years ago Mr. 
Snell started a branch bakery at the corner of Rock and Bedford 
streets, in Fall River, which is now in successful operation. The 
total number of hands employed in the bakery is forty-tour, and four- 
teen travelling salesmen are employed, who cover the whole of New 
England. The consumption of flour is now about ten thousand bar- 
rels annually. 

The bakery of Jonathan Buttrick at No. 18 Centre street was 
established between sixty-five and sevent}'^ years ago by Enoch 
Horton. Mr. Horton learned his trade with Nathaniel Tucker, of 
Milton, to whom Mr. Buttrick's father was also apprenticed, and 
simultaneously with the establishment of the bakery here, Mr. 
Buttrick commenced business in Fairhaven. Mr. Horton's bakery 
subsequently passed into the hands of Watson & Manchester and 
then Samuel Watson carried it on. The present proprietor learned 
the trade of his father and went to work tor Mr. Watson in 1878. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 29I 



The followino- year Mr. Watson died and Mr. Buttrick assumed the 
business. Mr. Buttrick bakes shipbread only and tor this purpose 
employs two brick ovens and a rotary oven. There are no other ingre- 
dients in the bread excepting flour and water, and it is baked in cakes, 
about five inches square, weighing five to the pound. It is packed 
in air tight casks and will keep from three to seven years without 
moulding. An average of seventy-five barrels of flour is baked up 
for a vessel starting on a voyage and further supplies are shipped 
out to the islands for the vessels. Mr. Buttrick bakes the bread used 
by all the whahng agents, with one exception, and the consumption 
of flour at this factory for seven years has been as follows: 1881, 
fifteen hundred sixty-four barrels ; 1882, sixteen hundred seventy- 
one barrels; 1883, fourteen hundred eighty-four barrels; 1884, ten 
hundred sixty-seven barrels: 1885, eleven hundred eighty-seven 
barrels ; 1886, nine hundred ninety-eight barrels ; 1887, ten hundred 
ninety-two barrels. 

Henry H. Fisher, E. C. Milliken, and S. P. Richmond & Co. 
carry on extensive bakeries, their products bemg chiefly for local 
consumption. 

PAINT MANUFACTORIES. 

The paint manufactory of Brownell & Co. is located at No. 13 
North Front street. It was established in 1879 by H.J. Brownell, at 
the corner of First and School streets, and in January, 1880, Albion 
T. Brownell entered the firm. Subsequently H. J. Brownell withdrew 
from the partnership. The business is the grinding of dry white 
lead, blacks, verdigris, and dry colors. The machinery consists of a 
lead mixer, a lead mill with a French burr stone, a color mixer, and 
three color mills. The firm also deals in painters' supplies and has a 
market extending from Pordand, Me., to New Jersey. 

In 1861 George Kirby, Jr., commenced the manufacture of paints 
and laid the foundation for one of our leading industries. The firm 
of George Kirby, Jr., & Co. now transacts a business aggregatmg 
one hundred thousand dollars annually, and Kirby's steamship black 
and Kirby's copper paints are known throughout the country. For 
twenty-three years the factorv has been located on Wall street. In 
April, 1887, it was destroyed by fire and a new building was erected. 



292 NEW BEDFORD. 



one hundred twenty by one hundred feet in area, and one and two 
stories high. Fine colors are imported and painters' speciahies are 
manufactured. Twelve hands are employed. The firm now com- 
prises George Kirby, Jr., George A. Kirby, and Eugene M. Barrows. 
The firm of Brightman Brothers, consisting of Frederick W. 
and William O. Brightman, was established about a year and a half 
ago at No. 7 Rodman street. The business is that of grinding colors 
in oil and japan. The machinery consists of two mixers and three 
mills. 



NOVELTIES IN METAL. 



The Weeden Manufacturing Company manufactures novelties in 
metal and occupies the two story brick building Nos. 112 and 114 
North Water street. The business was founded by William N. 
Weeden in 1883. Mr. Weeden is a native of New Bedford. He 
learned the trade of a jeweller of James T. Almy, of this city, and 
afterwards engaged in business in Boston for about a dozen years. 
At the expiration of that time he made an engagement with the Ben- 
edict & Burnham Manufacturing Company, at Waterbury. While in 
their employ the Waterbury watch was brought to them and put into 
his hands to develop, and finally its manufacture caused the formation 
of the Waterbury Watch Company, of which he was first superin- 
tendent for four years, visiting Europe three times in that period to 
introduce and perfect the manufacture of the watch. In the summer 
of 1882 he severed his connection with the watch company and 
removed to this city, establishing himself in business at Grinnell's 
foundry, where the necessary tools were manufactured. A growing 
business caused him to remove to the building he occupies at present, 
where he leased one-third of the upper floor. As his goods became 
popular and greater facilities were required, he branched out until 
finally the entire building was employed. In 1884 he invented a toy 
engine under an arrangement with Perry, Mason & Co., publishers of 
the Youths' Companion, and later this scientific toy was patented. 
The engine is an upright, complete miniature engine, eight inches 
high, with diameter of boiler two and three-quarters inches, having a 
capacity of half a pint; area of piston, one hundred fifty-nine thou- 
sandths square inch ; length of stroke, nineteen thirty-seconds inch ; 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 293 



diameter of flv-wheel, one and Bve-e.ghths mch ; we.ght of fly- 
wheel, one ounce : diameter of pnlley, five-e,ghths of an inch The 
entire machine consists of forty-one separate pieces, and before .t 
is ready for shipment is nicely packed in a box w'^ -'-dns. ove 
four hnndred distinct operations being reqn.red to make ,t. A 1 he 
working parts of the toy are nickel plated, as well as the smoke-s ack 
Toiler, and iire-box. Every engine is run and tested betore packmg 
and this manufacture necessitates a large outlay as the engmes are 
put into the works in lots of ten thousand at a t.me, several ton of 
[ead Intimony, tin plate, and other metals being consumed ,n thetr 
manufocture. Movable toys were devised, which the engnre oper- 
i:, UKI all the boys know what the ''Village Blacksm.th and 

"Machine Shop" are. 

Mr Weeden also manufactured luminous matcli sates m g.eat 
varieties magic lanterns, sewing assistants, and mus.cal watches. 
a11 the machinery employed in the manufacture is des.gned and made 

°" "Tnasmtr^s the work at the factory required so much of Mr, 
WeeenTtime that he could not properly attend to the outs.de bu^.,- 
ness of the firm, a stock company was formed m July, 1887, «.th a 
::;it:i ^ of $50,000, to manufacture Mr. Weeden's novelfes, and 

the officers are as follows : 

President— J. Arthur Beauvais. 
Treasurer — Charles E. Barney. 
Superintendent-William N. Weeden 
Dii^ctors-J. Arthur Beauvais C ha, le. E- Ba.ne> , 
Weeden, George S. Homer, and Edward b. Bioun. 

The latest invention of Mr. Weeden promises to become the n.ost 
populr' t\s a steam locomotive with a track. The latter .s laid m 
sections and the locomotive runs for a half hour. 
Over fifty hands are employed. 

MISCELLANEOUS ENTERPRISES. 

The Triumph Heat and Light Company was «':g^^"-'^^ ^^P^;;]; 
1 1 Me April ii, 1888, for the manufacture ot gas and vapor 
land, Me., n.p\u n, i-<->^ • • . xr x -.r, Fvrhanfe street, 

stoves. The office of the corporation .s at No. .9 ^'^'■'\"-? ' 

, , u ■ o. ,^f the romoanv is transacted at the omce 
Portland, but the business ot the company 



294 



NEW BEDFORD. 



of the treasurer, No. 44 North Water street, in this city. The factory 
is located here also, in Swift & Allen's block, Front street. The 
stock consists of fifty thousand shares of the par value of ten dollars 
each. The company manufactures various forms of burners for pro- 
ducing heat from illuminating gas, water gas, natural gas, and the 
vapor of gasoline. It also makes an improved form of vaporizer for 
the production of gasoline vapor, and among its productions is a 
combination piece of furniture in the form of an antique clock, con- 
taining a stove, with other combinations. Gas burners for use in the 
fire pot of any ordinary cook stove, the grate and lining being 
removed, are also made here. The heaters produce intense heat with 
a small consumption of fuel and are practically odorless while in 
operation. All the articles manufactured by the compan}^ are the 
inventions of Robert B. Carsley, of this city. The officers of the 
company are as follows : 

President — Edmund Rodman. 

Vice president — James H. Murkland. 

Secretary and treasurer — James L. Gillingham. 

Directors — Edmund Rodman, James H. Murkland, Oliver P. 
Brightman, Joshua B. Winslow, Pardon Cornell, Frank C. Smith, 
Robert B. Carsley. 

Superintendent — George D. Brown. 

The latest addition to our diversified industries is the manufact- 
ure of pianos, under the patents of Hiram B. Nickerson, of this city, 
in the third story of Parker's block, on Middle street. The piano 
diflfers from others in having one-half the strings run through the 
back of the plate, and the remainder through the front, with a differ- 
ential screw for a tuning pin, thus equalizing the strain and improving 
the tone. By means of the tuning device it is claimed that an 
upright piano will hold its tune ten times longer than by any device 
now in use. The invention at once secured the approval of expert 
pianists and tuners and the endorsement of a committee of the Board 
of Trade of this city, among others. 

In June, 1888, the Nickerson Piano Company was organized 
under the laws of the state of Maine, with $100,000 capital and the 
following officers : 

President — William Lewis. 
Clerk — George H. Nichols. 
Assistant clerk — Charles H. Holden. 
Treasurer — Frank R. Hadley. 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. ^95 



Directors-Wendell H. Cobb, Hiram B. Nickerson, James C. 
Slafford, and William Lewis. 

The manufacture was commenced in September. At present the 
cases and actions are bought at manufactories, and the N cker.on 
" t put in here. The pianos are high P-;d mstruments ret , - 
Z at from five hundred dollars to six hundred dolla.s but ,t 

Ihe "^"O , streets, and prussiate of potash 

street, between Chancery and t'ailc stieeis, c ^ 

and cyanide of potassium are — f^;^;:7fj;;;" ^. ^^,,,,,, and of a 
The works make the latter product in largei amou 

higlJr grade than ar>,v other ^--^-^^ ^r^^i; .r:^re3 
competition being in the .mported ''''^^''^V ,J''" '"' ".'^,\he corner of 
in I manufacture of Prussian '""-^^''t; s^.he business was 
William and Sixth streets, and about the year l«40 

purchased by Henry V. Davis and Pj-'-Pj^.t^^ever: v "ago, 
Davis became the sole proprietor, and on hisdeath.^eve y 

the heirs continued the business. About twenty .hands 
^"^"TlTe'p'rrsiate is used in dyeing and calico printmg but of late 
,ears but'little of this product has >'-^;:', ^ J'^, : fat the 
largely employed m electroplat.n,. ^^ e a e t ^.^^^ ^^ 

works and the cyanide is formed by bu, ning no 
'^'""'ThorasTtenham . Brother ma.mfacture sbu->n ^ >».^e 
scale in the three story block erected l^--;-^ ^/^r ^ ', ^.^^ei 
on Acushnet avenue. The senior '--''^' ;"^' ^V^,^.,,, building, 
the manufacture in --'^-^^^rarT^e va^dle took his brother 
on Water street, in 1868. A few \ ta. s ^^^_ ^^ 

Edward into the firm and removed his facto to he 
Cummings building, where they --""'='' ""\\'^i'' The firm 
™oved into the new building bu, t by them for th . 

has seven patents under which it '-""f- "-;'"' ^V indication 
son employs two hundred h.uids. P'-.;P»''y.S^ '^;,^,f, ,„t ,„e first 
of the development of the business ,t may be s.at d 
year Mr. Denham manufactured eight bundled shuts, 
hundred shirts are frequentl>- made ,n a day. 



296 NEW BEDFORD. 



foot of Hillman street. No flour has been manufactured here for 
five or six years because of the superior facilities at the west, but corn 
and feed are ground at both mills, and the firm does a large business 
in cereal products. The business was established and the south mill 
built in 1857 by Joseph B. Warner and John H. Denison, under the 
firm name of Warner & Denison. This partnership continued until 
1865, when Henry C. Denison was admitted and the firm name 
became Warner, Denison & Co. About the year 1868 Mr. Warner 
withdrew and the firm name was changed to J. H. Denison & Co. 
In 1877 George Wilson was admitted into the business and the north 
mill was purchased. Mr. Wilson remained in the firm three years 
and on his withdrawal the firm name became Denison Bros., and 
so it remains. Twenty-seven men are employed. 

The business of Coffin Bros., paper box manufacturers, was 
established about thirty-five years ago by Frederick Coffin, the 
senior member of the firm. He continued to conduct the business 
with his brother, Charles H. Coffin, until 1883, when his nephews, 
Walter H. and Arthur S. Coffin were admitted to partnership. The 
three story building, No. 38 Middle street, is occupied as a factory 
and about fifteen hands are employed. Pasteboard boxes of all sizes 
and styles are manufactured and a specialty is made of the Coffin 
folding paper box. 

The New Bedford Hydraulic Motor Company manufactures 
water motors at No. 13 Rodman street, and a large number is now 
in use. The invention of this motor consists in an impact water- 
wheel wherein is provided a novel adjustable and removable supply- 
ing contrivance, a novel indicator, and a novel guarded air-vent. 
The speed of the motor can be regulated and indicated to an almost 
infinitesimal degree by hand or speed governor. Fred. S. Giffbrd is 
the manager of the company. 

Job Wade, currier, occupies the three story brick building No. 
17 Hamilton street. He finishes leather and his specialties are the 
manufacture of carriage trimming leather in colors and welting and 
inner soles for shoes made on the Goodyear machine. In addition 
to the factory on Hamilton street Mr. Wade occupies a floor in a 
building on Commercial street. Twelve men are employed. 

The New Bedford Reed Company is located at No. 189 North 
Water street, and the firm consists of Manuel D., John D., and Joseph 
D. Martin. It manufactures weaving reeds for cotton, woolen, and 



INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 



297 



silk mills and does a thrifty business. The company has been located 
here for about three vears. 

Henr}^ C. Fowler, manufacturer of loom harnesses for silk and 
cotton mills, is located in the second story of the building on Parker's 
wharf, at the foot of Middle street. He has been in business in this 
city for two years and employs twelve hands. 

J. H. Lawrence, top roll and clearer coverer, has a factory on 
the lower floor of this building. He employs ten hands and does 
work for all the cotton mills in the city. 

The bomb gun and lance has taken the place of the harpoon in 
whaling. Shoulder, darting, and swivel guns are manufactured by 
William Lewis, under the Cunningham patent, Eben Pierce, 12 
William street, Daniel Kelleher, 19 North First street, and Selmar 
Eggers, 10 William street. An interesting circumstance in con- 
nection with the subject ma}' be related. A short time ago a blue 
whale was taken oft' Finmark, on the coast of Norway, in which was 
found a lance of Mr. Pierce's patent, made after a pattern manufac- 
tured by him twenty years ago. 

George H. Freeman manufactures writing and copying inks at 
No. 17 Centre street. He has been engaged in this business for about 
a dozen years and his inks are considered as good as an}' made. 

There are now scarcely as many sail makers in the city as there 
were sail lofts in the palmy days of whaling, not over twenty men be- 
ing regularly employed in the branch of industry which was once so 
important here. The firms now engaged in sail making are Thomas 
M. Hart & Co. (Thomas M. Hart, James C. Briggs, and Oliver W. 
Cobb), whose loft is on Commercial street, Edward E. Hitch, who 
carries on the business at Merrill's wharf. Job Almy, whose loft is on 
Middle street, and Chapman & Shurtleff\ corner of Union and Front 
streets. 

This statement is true of other kindred industries, such as rig- 
ging, pump and block, and mast and spar making. The most 
prominent riggers now engaged in the business are Peter Black, 
Abram Allen, and John L. Olstein. The pump and block makers are 
Charles W. Coggeshall, Walter D. Swan, Thomas W. Swift, Phineas 
White, and Edward S. Taber, and the prominent mast and spar 
makers are Rodolphus Beetle and Johnson & Howland. 

Prominent among the marble workers are Frederick E. Allen, 
20 North Second street, Theodore W. Cole, 20 William street, the 



298 NEW BEDFORD. 



New Bedford Monumental Marble Works, 25 Fourth street, and A. 
Moore & Co., Pope's Island. 

The leading manufacturers of roofing and concrete pavers are 
Perkins & Chase, John Bertram & Co., and Lloyd Bros. 

Among the leading building contractors are Brownell & Murk- 
land, who have an office in room 8 of Liberty Hall building and 
who make a specialty of mill construction ; Samuel C. Hunt, at 41 
William street, the builder of the Harrington school house ; John N. 
Morris, at 73 Grinnell street, who has erected many handsome 
dwellings; George E. Briggs, at 54 Dartmouth street, who is a 
thorough and careful workman; and Charles O. Brightman, at 82 
Mill street, whose work includes some of the best buildings in the city. 

Thomas J. Giftbrd & Co. make Park's steam heater, an appliance 
which has won much favor for heating both residences and public 
buildings. The factory is at 367 Acushnet avenue, and plumbing, 
steam fitting, and gas fitting, are extensively carried on. 

Thomas B. Tripp, whose office is at 325 County street, is a lead- 
ing real estate agent. He has had long experience, and few men 
are so well posted with regard to the value of landed property in this 
city or the adjoining towns as he. F. A. F. Adams is also a real 
estate agent with an office at No. 48 North Water street. 

Connected with both the newspaper establishments — the Stand- 
ard and Mercury — are large and well equipped job printing offices. 
The job printing business is also conducted by Paul Howland, Jr., 
in the Robeson building on William street. 

F. W. Francis is a manufacturer of fine cigars at 23 Commer- 
cial street. He has also an office and retail store at 148 Union street. 

Charles S. Paisler, at 160 North Water street, is a wholesale 
and retail dealer in masons' building materials, and does a large and 
increasing business. 



CD 


f>* 


c; 


f ;. 


s» 


'. '* 


H 


I'.*, 


o 


V; 


o 


\ • 


s 




Tl 




> 




7 




■< 






!^':. 




h- 




CHAPTER V. 



A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 




LL that has been said of New Bedford, of its his- 
tory, its attractions, its industries, its 
social, religious, and benevolent activ- 
ities, fails to exhaust the theme. The 
sons and daughters of this pleasant and 
happy city on the shore of the placid 
/ I ^^\ Mc Acushnet, wherever they may be scat- 

L J \\ jn " j ^ \ ^^ tered throughout the world, will with 

1,JI^^3^ one voice testify that no word in her 
J\fll im praise is too glowing, and that the 
__ picture of her charms is not half the 
Wis reality. But the bounds of this vol- 
ume are nearly reached, and all that can now be added must be 
limited to the plain statement of plain facts, for which no appropriate 
place has been found in the preceding pages. In this chapter, there- 
fore, are gathered various scraps of information, not closely related, 
but all having some important bearing on the interests or the condi- 
tion of New Bedford. 

The financial standing of the municipality is indicated by the 
following tabular statement of the city debt : 

„, , ^ , „ 1140,000.00 

Water bonds, 7s, 320 000.00 

Water bonds, 6s, • ^^^ 

Water bonds, 5s, 120,000.00 

IT ri' I' 10000.00 

Bridge bonds, 6s, ^,^ 

Sewer bonds, 4s, ^^^ 

Sewer bonds, 34s, . ^ 223,000.00 

Improvement bonds, 6s, i-nnnnn 

Improvement bonds, 4s, l-^OOO-OO 

Improvement bonds, 3ibs, l4U,uuu.uu 

Bonds outstanding $1,208,000.00 



302 NEW BEDFORD. 



The trust funds are as follows : 

Sylvia Ann Howland bequest $100,000.00 

George O. Crocker bequest, 10,000.00 

Library funds other than above, 4,100.00 

Cemetery funds for eare of lots, 7,064.93 

Jonathan Bourne school fund, 1,000.00 $122,164.93 

$1,330,164.93 
Temporary debt, 125,000.00 

Total debt, $l,4o5,164.93 

Deduct from the last sum named: 

Balance of cash, January 7, 1889, $32,196.88 

Amounts due fi-om state, 7,230.00 

Taxes collectable, 19,700.00 

Sewer taxes due, 7,347.39 

Sinking funds, 52,897.77 119,372.04 

Net debt January 7, 1889, $1,335,792.89 

The regular municipal appropriation bill of i888 was as follows : 

Appropriations, special of 1887, $50,000.00 

Cemeteries 1,500.00 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, chapter 252 (soldiers' aid), 3,500.00 

Discount for prompt payment of taxes, 10,000.00 

Fire department, 30,500.00 

Free public library, 5,400.00 

Highways and streets, 77,000.00 

Incidentals, 15,710.00 

Lighting the streets, 27,000.00 

New Bedford and Fairhaven bridge, 1,000.00 

New Bedford water works, 12,000.00 

Police department, 46,000.00 

Poor department, 33,000.00 

Public debt, 114,611.00 

Public schools, incidentals, 22,000.00 

Public schools, pay of teachers, 75,000.00 

Public schools, repairs of buildings, 3,000.00 

Repairs of city property, 5,000.00 

Salaries, 13,990.00 

Sewers, general account, 1,000.00 

Sinking funds 17,200.00 

Truant school, 2,000.00 

$566,411.00 
Less bonds issued, 50,000.00 

$516,411.00 

The special appropriations of i888 were : 

Cemeteries, $2,500.00 

City stable and lot, 11,580.44 




BRISTOL COUNTY COURT HOUSE, COUNTY STREET. 



304 NEW BEDFORD. 



Engine house and lot, Durfee street, $1,400.00 

Fire department, 4,700.00 

Harrinjrton school house and lot, 38,264.56 

Highway department, 5,500.00 

Incidentals, 550.00 

New Bedford and Fairhaven Bridge, 500.00 

Police department, 8,900.00 

Public schools, 10,000.00 

Repairs of city property, 3,455.00 

Sewers, construction and repairs, 55,173.20 

$142,523.20 
Add general appropriations, 516,411.00 

Total, $658,934.20 

The tax assessments of 1888 were levied as follows : 

State tax, $40,522.50 

County tax, 41,274.10 

Cit}- appropriations, 486,411.00 

Overlay, 19,364.30 

$587,571.90 

The rate of taxation was $17 on $1000. 

Reference has already been made to some of the churches. 

Following is a complete list, with the location and the names of the 

pastors : ' 

Advent. First. Foster street, corner of Kempton. William A. Burch, pastor. 
Baptist. First. William street, west of Sixth. J. C. Hideu, D. D., pastor. 

North. Corner of Merrimac and County streets. Henry C. Graves, D. D., pastor. 

Salem. Sixth street, north of Union. Andrew Chamberlain, pastor. 

Second. Middle street, west of Sixth. Randolph Hope, pastor. 
Catholic. St. Hyaciuthe. Rivet street, west of County. In charge of Joseph A. 
Peyan, of the Church of the Sacred Heart. 

St. James. This society has no church building, but services are held in the 
parochial school house, corner of Acushnet avenue and Wing street. James F. 
Clai'k, pastor. 

St. John the Baptist. Fifth street, corner of Wing. A. G. Neves, pastor. 

St. Lawrence. Countj^ street, corner of Hillman. Hugh J. Smythe, pastor. 

Sacred Heart. Ashland street, corner of Robeson. Joseph A. Peyan, pastor. 
Christian. First. Purchase street, corner of Middle. William T. Brown, pastor. 

Bonney street, corner of Sherman. Isaac H. Coe, pastor. 

Middle street, head of Sixth. John McCalman, pastor. 

Spruce street, corner of Smith. H. M. Eaton, pastor. 
Congregational. Acushnet village. S. C. Bushnell, pastor. 

North. Purchase street, corner of Elm. Albert H. Heath, D. D., pastor. The 
pastor has resigned, and will leave the church in March, 1889. 

Trinitarian. Fourth street, corner of School. Matthew C. Julieu, pastor. 
Episcopal. Grace. County street, corner of School. George A. Strong, rector. 

St. James. County, corner of Linden. Charles E. Barnes, rector. 



A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 3O5 



Olivet. Fourth street, corner of Rivet. Alfred Evan Johnson, rector. 
Friends. Spring street, west of Sixth. 

Fifth street, north of Russell. This house is rarely used. 
Methodist. Allen street, corner of County. Edward Williams, pastor. 

Bethel (African). Kempton street. J. Wesley Skerrett, pastor. 

County street, corner of Elin. Angelo Canoll, pastor. 

Fourth street, between Madison and Walnut. Albert P. Palmer, pastor. 

Pleasant street, corner of Sycamore. Matthias S. Kaufman, pastor. 

Primitive. High street. J. L. T.eith, pastor. 

Zlon (African). Ehn street, west of County. J. Francis Robinson, pastor. 
Missions. City Mission chapel. South AVater street. T. R. Dennison, missionary. 

Cannonville. Services held by various clergymen. 

Seamen's Bethel. Bethel street, between Union and William. Edward Williams 
is chaplain-elect. 
Presbyterian. Has no church building. James Mitchell, pastor. 
Unitarian (First Congregational). Union street, corner of Eightli. William J. 

Potter, pastor. 
Universalist. William street, east of Eighth. George T. Flanders, D. D., pastor. 

Few cities surpass New Bedford in the number and variety of 
social, musical, and literary organizations. Some of these have 
already been mentioned. Among others which are prominent are 
the New Bedford Lyceum, an institution which has in the past been 
active in providing lectures and concerts for the public, but which 
for the present is doing little. The New Bedford Choral Association, 
organized in 1869, has had an honorable history, and has done much for 
music in New Bedford. The Rheinberger Club of singers, a newer 
organization, has much promise for the future. The German Sang- 
erbund is also in a prosperous condition. With brass bands and 
orchestras the city is fully supplied, and some of these organizations 
are exceptionally good. 

Of secret fraternal societies a great number has been formed. 
Following is a complete list, with places of meeting. In the list 
a few are included which do not come strictly under this classification : 

Masonic. Star in the East Lodge, F. & A. M. Masonic hall. Union street. 
Eureka Lodge, F. & A. M. Masonic hall. Union street. 

Union Lodge, No. 7, F. & A. M. (colored). Hall in Eddy building. Union street. 
Adoiiiram Roval Arch rhapter. ]Masonic hall, Union street. 
St. Mark's Chapter, No. 5, H. R. A. M. (colored). Hall in Eddy building. Union 

street. 
Sutton Commanderv, K. T. Masonic hall, Union street. 
Thomas Dalton Commandery, No. 7, K. T. (colored). Hall in Eddy building, 

Union street. 
J. W^ Hood Chapter, Order of Eastern Star (colored). Hall in Eddy building. 

Union street. 
Odd Fki.i.ows. Acusbnet Lodge, No. 41, L O. O. F. Odd Fellows' hall, corner of 
Purchase and William streets. 




County Street Methodist Church. First Baptist Church. 

First Congregational (Unitarian) Church. 
Trinitarian Church. Middle Street Christian Church. 



A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 307 



Vesta Lodge, No. 166, I. O. O. F. Waverly building, Fourth street. 

Petomska Lodge, No. 1518, G. U. O. of O. F. (colored). Hall opposite post 

office, on Second street. 
Loyal Alpha Lodge, No. 6463, I. O. O. F., M. U. China hall, Purchase street. 
Annawan Encampment, Xo. 8, I. O. O. F. Odd Fellows' hall, corner of Purchase 

and \\'illiam streets. 
Grand Canton New l?edford. No. 15, P. M., I. O. O. F. Odd Fellows* hall, corner 

of Purchase and William streets. 
Stella Lodge, No. 46, D. of R. Waverly building, Fourth street. 
Household of Ruth, No. 282 (colored). Hall opposite post office, on Second 

street. 
The Odd Fellows' Beneficial Association of Southern Massachusetts has its head- 
quarters in this city. 
The headquarters for the Fifth regiment, Patriarchs Militant, I. O. O. F.. of which 

Lieut. Col. C. H. Holden, of New Bedford, is comyiander, is in this ciry. 
Cambridge Patriarchie, No. 15, G. U. O. of O. F., New Bedford division (colored). 
Hall opposite post office, on Second street. 
Grand Army Republic. William Logan Rodman Post, No. 1. G. A. R. hall. 
Purchase street. 
R. A. Pierce Post, No. 190. Knights of Honor hall, Union street. 
R. G. Shaw Post, No. 146 (colored). Neptune hall, corner Market and Pleasant 
streets. 
Red Men. Potomska Stamm, No. 182 (German), Independent Order of Ked Men. 
Germania house. North Second street. 
New England Encampment, Xo. 19 (German), Independent Order of Ked Meu. 

Germania house, Xorth Second street. 
Sippican Tribe, No. 77, Improved Order of Red Men. Knights of Pythias hall. 
Purchase street. 
Knights of Honor. Xew Bedford Lodge. Xo. 067. Knights of Honor hall. Union 
street. 
Protection Lodge, Xo. 3144. Temperance hall, Hicks building, Purchase street. 
KNIGHT.S OF PVTHIAS. Union Lodge, Xo. 7, K. of P. Knights of Pythias hall. Wing 
building, Purchase street. 
Carson Division, Xo. 10, U. R. K. of P. Knights of Pytliias hall. Wing building. 
Purchase street. 
Good Fellows. Prudential Assembly, No. 118, R. S. G. F. Knights of Honor 

hall, I'nion street. 
Order of the Iron Hall. Local Branch, No. 195. China hall. Purchase street. 

Local Branch, No. 207 (German). China hail, Purdiase street. 
Temple of Honor. Pilgrim Temple, No. 33. Temperance hall. Hick* building. 
Purchase street. 
Pilgrim Council, Xo. 7. Hicks building. Purchase street. 
Good Templars. Orient Lodge, Xo. 173, L O. G. T. China hall. Purchase street. 
Liberty Lodge, No. 48, L O. G. T. Temperance hall, Hicks building. Purchase 
street. 
Sons of Temperance. Acusbnet Division, Xo. 87. Temperance ball. Hicks build- 
ing. Purchase street. 
New Bedford Order of Protection. Bay State Lodge, Xo. 59. Knights of 

Honor hall, Union street. 
Sons of St. George. Gordon Lodge, No. 172. China hall. Purchase street. 



3o8 



NEW BEDFORD. 



Ancient Order of Foresters. Court Royal Oak, No. 6448. Spiuners' hall, cor- 
ner of TJiiion and VVnter streets. 

Ancient Order of Hibernians. Division No. 7. Neptune hall, corner of Pleasant 
and Market streets. 

British American Association. Branch No, 5. China Hall, Purchase street. 

Order of Elks. New Bedford Lodge, No. 73, B. P. O. Elks. Elks' hall, corner 
Union and Fourth streets. 




PROPOSED ODD FELLOWS' BUILDING. 

Union Veteran Legion. Encampment No. 10. G. A. K. hall, Purchase street. 
Sons of Veterans. John A. Havves Camp, No. 35, Division of Massachusetts. 

G. A. R. hall. Purchase street. 
Woman's Relief Corps. William Logan Rodman Woman's Relief Corps, No. 53. 

G. A. R. hall. Purchase street. 



A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. S^P 



LOYAL Knights and Ladies. Court Themis. Knights of Honor hall, Union street. 
Knights and Ladies of Honor. Sterling Lodge, No. 1222. Temperance hall, 

Hicks building, Purchase street. 
Legion of Honor. New Bedford Council, No. 816, A. L. of H. Temperance hall. 

Hicks building. Purchase street. 
United Endowment Associates. Pioneer Lodge, No. 16. Knights of Honor 

hall. Union street. ^ ,, „ v. 

Order of United Friends. Washington Council, No. 121. Chma hall, Purchase 

United Order of Pilgrim Fathers. British Colony, No. 29. Chiua hall, Pur- 

ROYAL ARCANUM. Omega CouDcil, No. 683. Knights of Honor hall Union street 
Labor Organizations. Local Branch, No. 17, American Flint Glass Workers 
Union. Neptune hall, corner of Market and Pleasant streets. 
Glass Cutters' Union. Ward room on Sherman street. 
New Bedford Branch of the New England Lasters' Union. Neptune hall, corner 

of Pleasant and Market streets. 
Edge Makers' Union. Homes of members. 
Level Union, No. 409, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. Chma hall, 

Spinners' Union. Spinners' hall, corner of Union and Water streets. 
MISCELLANEOUS SOCIETIES. New Bedford Printers' Benefit Assocmtion. Bancroft 

house, Union street. 
Provision Clerks' Association. Y. M. C A. rooms, William street. 
St. Lawrence Catholic Temperance Society. Neptune hall, corner of Market and 

Pleasant streets. „ ,. ^ *. 

Socialist Club. Edgerton hall, corner of Linden =^"^\P"'-«hase streets 
Parnell Branch, Irish National League. Neptune hall, corner of Maiket and Pleas 

New Be^ord Literary Association. Neptune hall, corner of Market and Pleasant 

streets 1 

New Bedford Society for Medical Improvement. At the homes of -^-^'^'"^^ 
Ladies- Independent Association (auxiliary to R. A. Pierce Post, 190). Masonic 

N^^^Si^'^^^e^S'Beneficial Association. Central engine house, Purchase 

BlTcake, and Cracker Bakers' Beneficial Association. China hall, Purchase 

L'Un^on Ouvriere (French). Over Edgerton's hall, Purchase street. 

Club of French Naturalization. Wamsutta hall. Purchase street. 

?esko Slo "nky Podporujici Spolek, No. 85 (Bohemian). Bohemian hall, Bowditch 

Youn^Mcn-s Total Abstinence & Beneficial Society. No. 137 Union street 

Ro ^f Sharon Beneficial society (colored). Salem ^^^'^^^^^^^f^l^^^f^^^^^^^^^ 

Young Mens Protestant Temperance and Benevolent Society. Hall ovei Boston 

<;tnrp Purchase street. , ^ . 

Firemen's Mutual Aid Society. Central engine house. Purchase street. 

Natural History Associates. 
High School Alumni. 



3IO 



NEW BEDFORD. 



The Wamsutta Club, a flourishing social organization of gentle- 
men, occupies pleasant rooms in the Masonic buildingonthe north side 
of Union street, west of Purchase. Nearly opposite, in Ricketson 
block, is the attractive home of the Dartmouth Club, composed 
chiefly of young business men. The South End Athletic Club has 
rooms on Union street. This club combines the social with the physi- 
cal in its scheme of operation. The Plymouth Club has headquarters 
in Music Hall. The "Chronometer Club" is the name applied to a 
group of retired whaling captains, who daily gather at rooms in the 
Robeson building, where they mingle with stories of the deep ani- 




NEW BEDFORD YACHT CLUB HOUSE. 
mated discussions of current topics. But their number is decreasing 



now 



The state militia is now represented by the City Guards, which 
is known officially as Co. E of the First Regiment of Massachusetts 
Infantry. This company has a long and honorable history, and at 
this day is in a state of unexceptional efficiency. Its captain is 
William Sanders and its ffrst and second lieutenants are Richard H. 
Morgan and Arthur E. Perry. The French Zouaves is a company 
composed of young French residents, and is not connected with the 
state militia. Its captain is Dr. L. Z. Normandin. 

A military company of pupils of the High school has been in 
existence for several years under the title of The High School Cadets. 
The company is now commanded by John Holt. The course of 
instruction for the boys in the school now includes the military drill. 



A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 3 II 



The South Bristol Farmers' Chib has its winter meetings in this 
city, though its members include residents of all the adjoining towns. 
Its membership is large and active, and it has done a good work for 
agriculture in the southern part of Bristol county. Its annual fairs 
are second only to those of the Board of Trade. Hon. A. Franklyn 
Rowland is the president. 

Eleven schooners, thirty-two sloops, one steamer, and one yawl 
are now enrolled in the New Bedford Yacht Club. Its attractive liouse 
on the south side of the New Bedford and Fairhaven bridge is a 
favorite resort for the members and their friends during the summer. 
The waters of the river and bay are peculiarly adapted to the pleas- 
ures of yachting, and it is not surprising that the club is a vigorous 
organization. Its officers are : 

Commodore — Richard H. Morgan. 

Vice commodore — Edgar B. Hammond. 

Rear commodore — Nathaniel Hathaway. 

Secretary — John W. Nickerson, Jr. 

Treasurer — E. Stanley Wills. 

Measurer — Henry F. Hammond. 

Directors — James A. Barnes, Horace Wood, John C. Rhodes, 
Benjamin H. Anthony, Albert W. Holmes, Richard S. Taber, 
William N. Church, Jr., George M. Crapo, George W. Parker, 
Edward M. Whitney, Lewis S. Richardson. 

The city has the telegraphic service of the Western Union Tele- 
graph Company, with an office at the southeast corner of Water and 
Centre streets ; of the Postal Cable Telegraph Company, with an 
office at No. 4 North Second street ; and of the Mutual Union Tele- 
graph Company, with an office at the northwest corner of William 
and North Second streets. 

The Southern Massachusetts Telephone Company, which con- 
trols the telephone system of this section of the state, has its head- 
quarters in New Bedford. Its president is Charles W. Clifford, its 
treasurer, Samuel Ivers, and its manager, Moses E. Hatch. In New 
Bedford about seven hundred fifty telephones are in use. 

Express facilities are furnished by Hatch & Company's line, 
which was established in 1840 by Col. A. D. Hatch and is one of 
the oldest express companies in the country ; and by Allen's New 
York & Boston express. The former is now running in connection 
with the New York and Boston Despatch Express Company, and 
it is the only company that forwards express matter on passenger 



312 NEW BEDFORD. 



trains. The New England Despatch Company also has an office ; 
William H. Thing is manager. 

The Union Street Railway Company, which controls all the 
street railway track in the city, is the result of a consolidation of two 
rival corporations. Its tracks reach every section of the city, and its 
cars make frequent trips in every direction. Lines run to Fairhaven 
and to Acushnet village, and in the summer cars are run to Woodlawn 
grove, located on Clark's point. The capital stock of the corpora- 
tion is $260,000, and the officers are : 

President — Samuel C. Hart. 

Treasurer — Andrew G. Pierce. 

Clerk — Charles H. Giflbrd. 

Directors — The above and Jonathan Bourne, William W. Crapo, 
Weston Rowland, J. Arthur Beauvais, Charles E. Cook, Abbott P. 
Smith. 

The New Bedford post office does a larger business than is usual 
in places of the size of New Bedford. Its receipts for the vear 1888 
were $42,296.86. During that period the letter carriers handled 
4,693,664 pieces of mail matter. The money order transactions 
amounted to $190,224.74. The working force of the office includes 
the postmaster, assistant postmaster, nine clerks, sixteen letter car- 
riers, and two substitute letter carriers. Albert H. W. Carpenter is 
the present postmaster. 

In spite of the decline of whaling, the port of New Bedford is 
still the scene of great activity, and it is true that the tonnage of ves- 
sels arriving and departing in a year far exceeds that of the palmiest 
days of the whaling industry. Records kept at the custom house 
show that during the year 1888 the number of arrivals at this port 
was as follows : 

Ships I 

Barks 13 

Brigs 2 

Schooners 809 

Sloops 29 

Barges 210 

Steamers 708 

1772 
The total tonnage of these vessels was 564,363 tons. The 
list does not include yachts or fishermen. The largest item in the 
coastwise business at present is the coal trade, which has been re- 
ferred to in another part of this volume. 



A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 313 

New Bedford now has in the foreign trade one ship, of 822.19 
tons, three barks, aggregating 2795.79 tons, and two schooners, 
together measuring 360.65 tons. Her coasting fleet is divided as 
follows : 

Number. Tonnage. 

Steamers 10 2925.11 

Schooner.?, 40 7048.82 

Sloops, 13 143.28 

There are also fifteen fishing schooners, aggregating 363.28 tons, 
and twenty-two fishing sloops, whose united tonnage is 210.17 tons. 

As a last word about the growth of New Bedford, it may be said 
that good judges anticipate an increase of five thousand in the popu- 
lation in the next two years, as a result of the new manufacturing 
enterprises that are now assured. 

The approaches to New Bedford are by both land and water, 
railroad and steamboat lines uniting to render transportation to and 
from her limits pleasing and effective. The railway service is entirely 
by the Old Colony railroad system ; but so numerous are the routes, 
so thorough the establishment, and so complete the provision, that it 
would really seem that no possible, or practicable, avenue of approach 
has been overlooked or ignored. Passengers from New York, Boston, 
Providence, and the vast regions of country that must make these 
centres their gateways in visiting localities in southeastern Massachu- 
setts, find railroad lines arranged with direct reference to New Bed- 
ford as a terminal point; while the summer resorts of New England 
— the White mountains, the Maine seashore and inland. Mount De- 
sert and Campobello, the eastern shores of Massachusetts, Plymouth 
and the Old Colony, Newport and its surroundings, etc — have each 
a special service in connection with this city, designed to meet the 
demands of her interests, and which ministers directly to the business, 
economic, and domestic departments of her existence. The water 
service of the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket 
Steamboat Company is in the way of connecting the city intimately 
with Woods Holl, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket, and in the 
summer time furnishing the most delightful excursions, that are at 
the same time transportation agencies, along the southern Massa- 
chusetts shores, over the waters most attractive and interesting in her 
neighborhood, and among scenes and to points that have become 
famous throughout the length and breadth of the land. The com- 



A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 315 

pany has four fine boats constantly in service during the summer, 
and the facilities for making excursions from New Bedford are 
excellent. This city has also direct water communication with New 
York, a freighting steamer of the Old Colony Steamboat Company 
(New Bedford line) plying constantly between the two ports via Long 
Island sound, thus securing first class freight transportation at the 
lowest rates and by shortest route, and facilities that she may call 
peculiarly her own, since they are established and maintained to 
minister to her wants alone. By railroad one may reach or leave 
New Bedford by three separate and distinct routes, all branches or 
feeders of the Old Colony system, as outlined in the sentences pre- 
ceding this. The Fall River branch connects this city with Fall 
River, a short piece of road (fourteen miles) running through West- 
port and Dartmouth villages, and of great utility, both as a passen- 
ger and freighting line. Besides, connection is had with Fall River 
over the branch running from that city via Myricks ; and connecting 
with direct line between New Bedford and Taunton. The steam- 
boat trains of the Fall River line from Boston run via Taunton and 
Weir Junction to Fall River, and the Northern division of the Old 
Colony system, that connects the same with Framingham, Lowell, 
Fitchburg, and the White mountain region, forms junction with the 
system south of Boston, also at Taunton ; and being continued there- 
from via Myricks to the seacoast, finds terminus in New Bedford. 
Approaching the city by rail from the eastward, a branch leaves 
the Cape Cod division of the Old Colony system at Tremont, 
and passing through Marion and Mattapoisett has a terminus in Fair- 
haven, opposite New Bedford ; and from the Fairhaven station the 
communication is of the shortest, by bridge and street cars, or the 
ordinary methods of city transportation. The Northern division of 
the Old Colony railroad, practically a continuation of the line which, 
leaving New Bedford as a starting point, passes via Taunton to 
South Framingham, Lowell, etc., crosses the Boston & Providence 
railroad at Mansfield. An available route for Boston passengers to 
and from New Bedford is via Mansfield and the Boston & Providence 
tracks to the station of that railroad in Boston. Passengers for New 
York via the Fall River line may avail themselves of either of the three 
routes to Fall River indicated above, according to their desires as to 
time of arrival in Fall River ; and the same may be said of travel to 



1i;il1iini<i!lilililllllllllllllilllP)ilJ|li:il||{|H 




A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 317 

Newport from New Bedford. In summer time the coasts and water- 
ing places from Newport, R. I., away round to Portsmouth, N. H., 
are within reach of New Bedford of a morning; and it is almost 
literally true that one may leave this city by a morning train and 
visit any place within the above mentioned limits and return to his 
starting place before bedtime of the same day. The Mattapoisett 
and Marion shores. Onset and Onset bay, the Buzzards bay shores, 
Monument and Falmouth villages. Woods Holl, Martha's Vineyard, 
Nantucket, all the shore points and towns, outer and inner, of Cape 
Cod, Pl3'mouth, and Duxbury, the South Shore, Cohasset, Hingham, 
and Nantasket beach, and all the north shore with its wealth of 
scenery and associations, certainly come within this possibility. All 
the localities thus included are to be reached by rail from New 
Bedford, and the round trip made in a single day, except the 
islands _referred to; and the steamboat service which brings them 
within reach is so thorough and adequate that the passenger may 
visit*them and return also within the sunlight hours of a single da}'. 
Modern methods of travel have indeed annihilated space, and with 
all these beautiful scenes and situations within, as it were, a stone's 
throw of this city, there is small need to insist that New Bedford her- 
self, in her immediate surroundings and approaches, is possessed of 
advantages and attractions of the highest order. Yet such truly is 
the case. Wherever a glimpse even of her unrivalled water views 
can be obtained by the passenger approaching her outskirts, the 
result of enthusiastic delight is sure to ensue ; and if these glimpses 
can be multiplied, — as they are in many of the railroad situations, — 
or broadened into varying extended outlooks, — as takes place upon 
any of the water approaches, and often upon the land routes, — 
the pleasure is deepened and the attractiveness of the place becomes a 
permanent feature. There are some grand old woods, too, in the 
New Bedford neighborhood, and landscape presentations often includ- 
ing these, which are of fairest qualities. The drives about this city 
are among and through these scenes ; and mankind has occupied, 
and his hand has reclaimed and beautified and artistically built upon 
their sites, so that all roads and routes leading hitherward are full of 
interest, while they are also beneficent establishments for human 
needs. The service bv these railroad and steamboat lines is designed 
to meet every want of this city connected with the department of 



3l8 NEW BEDFORD. 



transportation. Trains of every kind are frequent and timely, and 
run upon a basis of knowledge of the situation which long experi- 
ence has supplied. Facilities increase as the just call for them is 
extended, and by land and water no city is better served than New 
Bedford. 




WHARF SCENE. 



PAUL HOWLAND, JR., 



<IPRINTERI> 




Designer ^^'^ Engraver, 

45 WILLIAM STREET, 
NEW BEDFORD, -« * MASS. 



pmna 



/IV 




'6^1 ?ne ® 



n lofpaVeGl poUer^, §aIeoslaF^, ©Pg^cf^ oF ,Ji;ar2c^e?, 

^u^ pddp^^^ ©apd^^ i^bhcF, gjll, Bote, iipeylap aod 
|t:ahem<^r2t |a£\dio^^, EoVelope^, che., or^ liauGi op mad^ 
to opdep. 

cippie'i^ pea^oRafel^ lov/. gp'eejal pahe^ to Jofebep^. 

45-%|iIliam |L, 
lew gjedfor^cB], )!( |ta^^. 




u 
to 


q: 

I 


z 
< 




CO 


-I 




z 


a 




o 

> 

HI 


CO 
CM 




a 


c6 




o 


lO 




00 


(M 



NEW BEDFORD 



MASSACHUSETTS 



Leading Industrial and Financial 



ENTERPRISES 



NEW BEDFORD. 



THK 



Merchants National Bank, 

of new bedford, 

56 North Watkr Strket. 
united states depository. 

Incorporated, 1825. 



Capital Stock, - - - $1,000,000 
Surplus Fund, - - - $500,000 



PRESIDENT, 

JONATHAN BOURNE. 

CASHIER, 

H. C. W. MOSHER. 

DIRECTORS, 

Jonathan Bourne, Andrew Hicks, 

George F. Bartlett, William R. Wing, 

George F. Kingman, Samuel C. Hart, 

Thomas H. Knowles, Gilbert Allen, 

Francis B. Greene, William N. Church, 

George S. Homer, James Delano. 



Discount Days, TPuesdays and Kridays. 

Bank Hours, 9 to 1. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. iii 



THE 

FIRST NATIONAL BANK, 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
(Formerly Marine Bank.) 



Capital, . - . - 11,000,000 
Surplus, - - . - $200,000 



DIRECTORS, 

LEM'L kollock, edw. s. taber, 

ABRAM T. EDDY, WM. BAYLIES, 

W. P. WINSOR, EDW. T. PIERCE, 

WM. WATKINS, HUMPHREY W. SEABURY, 

T. M. STETSON, SAVORY C. HATHAWAY, 

MATTHEW LUCE. 



WM. WATKINS, President. 
W. P. WINSOR, Cashier. 

GEO. B. HATHAWAY, Teller. 

WM. A. MACKIE, Book-keeper. 

FRANK B. CHASE, Discouni Clerk. 
CHAS. T. SMITH, Collection Clerk. 
W. S. HUNT, Messenger. 



IV NEW BEDFORD. 



THE 



Mechanics National Bank 

Reorganized in 1864 from the Mechanics Bank. 
Incorporated in 1831. 



Capital Stock, - - - $600,000 
Surplus, - - - - $225,000 



PRESIDENT, 
WM. W. CRAPO, 

VICE PRESIDENT, 
ANDREW G. PIERCE. 

CASHIER, 
JAMES W. HERVEY. 

ASST CASHIER, 
LEMUEL T. TERRY. 

DIRECTORS, 
WM. W. C;RAP0, HORATIO HATHAWAY, 

ANDREW G. PIERCE, LOUM SNOW, 

JOHN R. THORNTON, EDWARD D. MANDELL, 

JIREII SWIFT, E. WILLIAMS HERVEY, 

THOMAS WILCOX, EDWARD KILBURN, 

HENRY C. DENISON. 



Discount Days, Wednesdays and Saturdays. 

BANK HOURS, 9 a. m. to 1 p. m. 

LOCATION, 

No. 62 NORTH WATER STREET, 

FOOT OF WILLIAM. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



NATIONAL BANK OF COMMERCE, 

OF NEW BEDFORD. 

No. 37 North Water Street. 

-CJlSriTED STATES OEFOSITOK.Y. 



Incorporated in 1803. 
Reorganized in 1864. 



Capital, = = $1,000,000 



OKFICKRS. 

PRESIDENT, 

FRANCIS HATHAWAY. 

VICE PRESIDENT, 

W. C. N. SWIFT. 

CASHIER, 

JAMES H. TALLMAN. 

DIRECTORS, 
FRANCIS HATHAWAY, OLIVER PRESCOTT, 

WM. C. N. SWIFT, CHARLES W. PLUMMER, 

HENRY TABER, WALTER CLIFFORD, 

WM. J. ROrCH, MORGAN ROTCH, 

CHARLES W. CLIFFORD, OTIS N. PIERCE, 

WM. A. ROBINSON, JOSEPH F. KNOWLES, 

FREDERICK SWIFT, WILLIAM D. ROWLAND, 

MANLY U. ADAMS. 



Discount Days, Mondays and Thursdays, 

Bank: Hoors, from 9 a. m. to 1 p. rn. 



VI NEW BEDFORD. 



H 



No, 38 North Water Street, 



CAPITAL, 1500,000. 
SURPLUS AND PROFITS, |150,000. 



Transacts a general Banking Business and solicits the accounts of Banks, 
Corporations, and Individuals. 

Fire and Burglar Proof Vault with Safe Deposit Boxes for the use of customers. 

Executes orders for Investment Securities. Coupons and Dividends collected 
without charge. 



DIRECTORS, 

J. A. BEAUVAIS, FRED. S. POTTEK, 

JOHN P. KNOWLES, OLIVER P. BRIGHTMAN, 

VVM. J. KILBURN, DAVID B. KEMPTON, 

CHARLES TUCKER, CYRENIUS W. HASKINS. 

J. A. BEAUVAIS, President. E. S. BROWN, Cashier. 



Sankord & KeLIvKY, 

Bankers, Brokers, and Stock Auctioneers, 

47 North Water Street, New Bedford, Mass, 

Members Boston Stock Exchange. INVESTMENT SECURITIES A SPECIALTY. 

Sole agents for New Bedford ami vicinity, for tlie 8ale of tlie 

Lombard Investment Company's First Mortgage Guaranteed Loans. 

Tliis company is tlie Oldest, Strongest, and most Relialile doing Western Loan business in the 

United States. Thirty million dollars of loans sold, more than one halt of which has become due 

and been promptly paid. Guaranty about $3,000,000. 

Private wire connecting our office with New York and Boston. 
Auction sale of Stocks and Bonds Saturdays, at 10.45 a. m. 



ESTABLISHED 1829. 



W. A. ROBINSON & CO., 

m^ mad Whrnlm Oil, 

SPERM CANDLES, OIL SOAP, ETC. 

Also, Commission Merchants and Dealers in Lard, Red, Paraffine, and Coal 
Oils ; Potato, Wheat,, and Corn Starch ; Cotton Goods, &c. 

No. lo SOUTH WATER ST., PROVIDENCE, R. I. 

AND 

No. 144 SOUTH WATER ST., NEW BEDP^ORD, MASS. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



Vll 



TtieNewBedlofd Sate Deposit (STfust Co. 

61 WILLIAM STREET, COR. ACUSHNET AVENUE. 

FIDELITY. ^ J»^ SECURITY. 



President, 
Charles E. Hendrickson, 

Cashier, 
Ednmnd W. Bourne. 

Directors, 
Charles E. Hendrickson, 
William D. Howlaml, 
Abbott P. Smith, 
Benjamin F. Brownell, 
Savory C.Hatliawav, 
Lot B. Bates, 
Stephen A. Brownell, 
Standish Bovirne, 
Frederic Taber, 
John W. Macomber, 
Lemuel LeB. Holmes, 
George C. Hatch. 




Paid up Capital, 
$100,000. 

Authorized Capital, 
$500,000. 

TRANSACTS A GENERAL 

BANKING BUSINESS 

SAME AS ANY NATIONAL 

BANK. 

NOTES DISCOUNTED. 
COLLECTIONS MADE ON 
^^ ALL AVAILABLE POINTS. 



COMMENCED BUSINESS JUNE 28, 1888. 

OPEN SATURDAY EVENINGS FROM 7.30 TO 9 O'CLOCK. 

BANKING DEPARTMENT. 

Money received on deposit subject to check on presentation. Exchange on New England, New 
York, the West, and California. Interest allowed on daily lialance.s without limit and credited 
monthly. Invites the accounts, great or small, of Banks, Hankers, Corporations, Municipalities, 
Town Treasurers, Manufacturers, Firms, Individuals and tliose acting in any official or trust capaci- 
ty, and will be pleased to meet or correspond with any who may contemplate making changes or 
opening new accounts. Legally authorized to receive and hold money or property in trust or on de- 
posit from executors, administrators, assignees, guardians, etc. 

Dl.SCOLINT DAYS MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, AND FRIDAYS AT 9 A. M. 

Apartment exclusively for Ladies, also a pulilic room for Gentlemen. 

Banking Hours 1) a. m". to 2 p. M. and 4 to 5 P. M. .<)®-Saturdays, 9 a. M. to 2 p. m. and 7.30 to 9 P. M. 



SAFE BIND 
SAFE FIND 



SAFE DEPOSIT DEPARTMENT. 



SAFE BIND 
SAFE FIND 



CHARLES M. HUSSEY, MANAGER. 

The vaults of this company are positively lire, burglar, and mob proof and guarded night and day. 
In the vaults are individual safe deposit boxes for rent to parties wishing absolute security for their 
valuables. Price $10 to flOO ]ier annum, according to size. Less time at less rates. These boxes re- 
quire the master-key and the preseni'e of the Manager of the safe deposit apartment as well as the 
renter to open. One cannot witliDut the other. Patrons may remove and replace their boxes as often 
as desired during business liours. Separate "coupon" rooms for ladies and gentlemen, which are 
strictly private and free and provided with desks, writing- materials, etc., etc. Storage department 
for furs, silver ware, laces, papers, books and all kinds of valualjles at very low rates. A cordial 
and general invitation extended to either sex to call during business hours and examine our safe and 
rooms. Business hours 9 A. M. to 2 p. »i. ami 4 to .5 P. M. Saturdays 9 a. M. to 2 p. M.and 7.30 to UP. M. 

We particularly call the attention of families who during tlie summer months are closing their 
houses and leaving the city to our admirable facilities for the safe custody of plate antl other valua- 
bles in our impregnable lire, burglar, and mob proof vaults. Charges low. 

A SOLID INVESTIMENX. 

Exclusive agency for Southern .Massachusetts for tlie sale of the 

6% DEBENTURE BONDS and 7% GUARANTEED FARM LOANS 

of the Union Investment Co., Kansas City, Mo. I'aid up capital .■:!l,(H((),(H»(l, mostly Eastern stock 
holders. These bonds are secured l)y 1st liens of real es/dte (it 2 I -'J times their ainounf deposited with 
American Loan & Trust Co., Boston! The Farm Loans are secured in the same manner. Issued and 
for sale in sums of .$100 and upwards, at par and accrued interest. Coupons cashed ./Vee by us. 
VVe have personally and carefully examined these properties and manner of negotiating and con- 
fidently believe them to be A SAFE AND PROFITABLE INVESTMENT. 



Vlll 



NEW BEDFORD. 




i 



TILUNGHASTahdALDEN 



I- 




Successors to the late Joseph S. Tillinghast. 



50 



.J^ 






J=w 



«§ 

^ 

# 
^ 




1 

i 









S 



Business respectfully solicited and policies issued at this 
office 171 the following named companies for which we are the 
duly authorized agents: 



^tna Ins. Co., Hartford 

Connecticut Fire Ins. Co., Hartford 

Spring^ficld Fire & Marine Ins. Co., Springfield 
Fire Association, Pliiladelpliia 

Continental Ins. Co., New York 

Niagara Fire Ins. Co., New York 

Williamsburg City Fire Ins. Co., New York 

Equitaljle Fire & Marine Ins. Co., Providence 

No. British and Mercantile Ins. Co., Loudon 

Phcenix Assurance Co., London 

Imperial Fire Ins. Co., London 

Fitchlnirg Mutual Fire Ins. Co., Fitcliburg 



Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 




Hartford 


Meriden Fire Ins. Co., 




Meriden 


Ins. Co. of North America, 




Philadelphia 


Home Ins. Co., 




New York 


German American Fire Ins. 


Co., 


New York 


Hanover Fire Ins. Co., 




New York 


American Ins. Co., 




Newark 


Merchants Ins. Co., 




Providence 


Guardian Assurance Co., 




London 


Queen Ins. Co., 




Liverpool 


City of London Fire Ins. Co. 


, 


London 


Dorchester Mutual Fire Ins. 


Co., 


Boston 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. IX 



LAWRENCE GRINNELL. JOSHUA C. HITCH. 

LAWRENCE GRINNELL & CO., 

FIRE AND MARINE, LIFE, AND PLATE GLASS 

INSURANCE, 

60 North Water St, foot of William, 

OVEE MECHANICS NATIONAL BANK. NEW BEDFORD. 



Agents for the following named first class companies : 

Liverpool und London and Globe Insur- British America Assurance Co. Of Toronto 

ance Co. Of Liverijool Prescott Insurance Co. Boston 

American Fire Insurance Co. New York Hamburg-Bremen Fire Insurance Co. Bremen 

Royal Insurance Co. Liverpool Northern Assurance Co. London 

Providence Washington Ins. Co. Providence Spi'ing Garden Philaelphia 

Commercial Union Assurance Co. Loudon North American Boston 

Merchants Insurance Co. Newark Mutual Life Insurance Co. New York 

Traders Insurance Co. Chicago Lloyds' Plate Glass Insurance Co. New York 



A. M. BROWNELL. J. H. MURKLAND. 

Brownell & Murkland, 

Conlfactofs, Buiifs, i Cfanite Dealefs, 

-4SM1LL AND HEAVY BUILDING A SPECIALTY,**- 

Curbing, Cellar, & Dimension Stone. 

OFFICE, 

Liberty HIa.il Bu.iid.ing, K-oom. 8, 

New Bedford, Mass. 



NEW BEDFORD. 



SAMUEL H. COOK, 

Marine & Fire Insurance 

AGENT AND BROKKR, 

No. 37 North Water Street (in National Bank of Commerce Building), 

NEW BEORORD, N4ASS. 

WHALING EISKS AND THEIR CATOHINGS A SPECIALTY AT THIS AGENCY. 

The following first class Fire Insurance Companies are represented, viz : 

Ilingham Mutual Fire Insurance Co., Hingbani. 
The laberty Insurance Co. New York Loudon Assurance Corporation, London, Eng. 

Phicnix Insurance Co. Hartford London & Lancashire Insurance Co. London 

National Fire Insurance Co. Hartford Norwich Union Fire Iiisin-ance Society, England 

Pha'uix Insurance Co. Brooklyn, N. Y. New Hampshire Fire Ins. Co. Manchester, N.H. 

Pennsylvania Fire Insurance Co. Philadelphia Westchester Fire Insurance Co. New York 

American Fire Insurance Co. Philadelphia Commerce Insurance Co. Alljany, N. Y. 

The Metropolitan Plate Glass Insurance Co. of New York. 

NOTARY PUBLIC. JUSTICE OF THE PEACE. . 

Insurance Scrip Bought and Sold. 

NEW BEDFORD BOILER AND MACHINE CO., 

JOSEPH S. LEY;IS. henry a. HOLCOMB, Treas. 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

BOILERS^ Machinery 

OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. 

Repmincf of all kinds promptly attended to. 



WASTE, MACHINE BOLTS, LAG SCREWS, BOLT ENDS, AND RUBBER 
STEAM PACKING CONSTANTLY ON HAND. 

Steam Heating and Fittings. 

24 KRONX STREET, 

New Bedford, Mass. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



XI 




ESTABLISHED 1847. 



Charles Taber & Co, 



New Bedford, Mass. 



Salesroom, 28 Bond St., New York. 



MANUFACTURERS OF 



Artotype Engravings, 

Photographs, 

Picture Frames, 

Mouldings, 

Art Novelties. 



Xll NEW BEDFORD. 



NEW BEDFORD COPPER CO. 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

Yellow Metal and Copper 

SHEATHING, 

BRAZIERS', DIMENSION, AND BOLT 

COPPER. 

Copper Rollers for Callco Printers. 



yellow metal bolts 

and cut nails, etc. 

New Bedford, Mass. 

GILBERT ALLEN, Pres't. WM. H. MATHEWS, Treas. 



XIV 



NEW BEDFORD. 



CHARLES F. BORDEN, 

Pattern and Model Maker. 



ALSO, MANUFACTIJRKR OF THK 



TREMONT-TURBINE WATER WHEEL 

Wliicli lor clieapnesfi, ihiral)ilit.\ . and power, we kn(i\\ ol' no \\ heel that equals. 

Gearing, Shafting, Iron & Wood Pulleys. 

House and Cottao-e Trim- 
mings. Store Fronts, Coun- 
ters, and Wall Cases. 

Bank Counters and Desks 

Carving^, Pianino; liaSaw- 
ing, and Turning in all its 
branches. 

Wooden Mantels a spec- 
ialty in soft or hard Wood. 

Also, Book Cases, Side 
Boards, Wash Stands, and 
Furniture of all kinds. 

Stair Builders' Supplies ; 
Newells, Balusters, and Rails 
on hand and made to order. 

Plans for the above specialties fui-nished at 
short notice. Estimates given and satisfaction 
friiaranteed In every case. 

STONE BUILDING, SECOND FLOOR, 

Cor. of So. Water and Coffin Sts., new Bedford, mass. 





LEADING ENTERPRISES. XV 



GREENE & WOOD, 

DEALERS IN 

ALL KINDS OF LUMBER, 

SPRUCE, HEMLOCK, FLAE, S^o. 

Tn large variety. Also an assortment of YELLOW PINE TIM- 
"^ BER, PLANK, STEPPING, AND FLOORING. 

We carrv a good stock of HARD WOOD LUMBER for inside 
finish, and with our new improved Hot Blast Dry Kiln, we can 
furnish the choicest Kiln Dried Moulding and Flooring. 



OUR PLANING MILL 

Recendv destroyed by fire, has been entirely rebuilt and very much 
enlarged, and with New Machinery w^e are prepared to do all 
varieties ot 

PLANING, MOULDING, SAWING, AND TURNING. 



SPOOLS AND BOBBINS. 

GREENE & WOOD are again prepared to make 
all kinds of SPOOLS AND BOBBINS for cotton and woolen 
mills and rope works. 

A new mill and the very latest improved machinery afford the best 
facilities for good work and prompt delivery. 



XVI 



NEW BEDFORD. 




"^rfe** 



Xj. .^. LITTXjEIFIEXjID 



SIANUFACTURER OF 



I^ine Silver Plated 



F'EF'F'ER, 



SUGAR SIFTER TOPS, 
Factory, Tallman's Block, 134 Union Street 




pine .^ilYer Plated 

NON-DRIF" 

Syrup Jug Tops, 

Bitter Tubes, 
NOVELTIES, &c. 

- NEW BEDFORD. MASS. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



XVll 



PAIRPOINT MFG. CO. 



E. D. MANDELL, Pres T. 



T. A. TRIPP, Aqt. and Treas. 



FINE 



OLD i im PUTL 

For sale by Leading Jewellers throughout the country. 




Re=plating and Repairing 

EXECUTED BY SKILLED MECHANICS. 

4i^pactory, Prospect gtreet, - jleW Bedford, ]VIass/i^ 



WAREROOMS : 

At Factory. 

20 Maiden Lane, New York. 

90 AND 92 Wabash Avenue, Chicago, III. 

220 Luther Street, San Francisco, Cal. 
Sydney, Australia. 



XVlll 



NEW BEDFORD. 



SMITH BROS. 

A. E. SMITH. H. A. SMITH. 



Fine Decorated Glassware 



=®i^^s^^ 




^-:::5b;E: -^^'y-j/i't'^Ki'- 



Shades of every Description, Vases in Great Variety, Plaques, 

Tiles, Salts, Mustards, Muffineers, 

Lamp Goods, &c. 

Works and Show Rooms, 28 and 30 William St, 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. XIX 

Dknison Bros., 

FLOUR! 

CmmilM FLOUR, MiUNCS, CORN, 

Oats, Fine M, Mi Etc, 



ALSO 

NO. 100 SOUTH WATER ST., 

AND FOOT OF HILLMAN STREET, 

HS"b'''SL. »EW BEDFORD, MASS. 

THOMAS M. HART. 
JAMES C. BRIGG8. 
OLIVER W. COBB. 

Sail IMakers and iShip OIi.uii<lle]:*i$. 

Manufacturers of all kinds of 



THOS. M. HART & CO., 

^ Tents, Awnings, Flags, 

STRAINERS, 

M Press Bais for Oil Works. 




Canvas Deck Covers and Eoof Covers- 
Dealers in Duck, Rope, and Twine. 



Brownell, Ashley & Co., 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

Fine Carriages, 

AND DEALERS IN ALL GRADES AT REPOSITORY, 

Nos. 24 and 38 Fourth Street, 
Nev/ Bedford, Mass. 



XX NEW BEDFORD. 



New Bedford Cordage Co. 



ESTABLISHED 1842, 



MANUF^ACTURERS OK 



All Kinds and Sizes of 



CORDAGE 



DRILLING CABLES- 



For Artesian Wells a Specialty. 



WILLIAM J. ROTCH, President. 

J. W. MACOMBER, General Manager. 

I. W. BENJAMIN, Treasurer. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. XXI 



ESTABLISHED IN 1850. 

THE EVENING STANDARD 

Is one of the large newspapers of New England and by far the largest and most widely circu- 
lated of any newspaper in Southern Massachusetts, being read daily by about M.OOO people. Its 
circulation in New Bedford and vicinity is three times that of any other in the city. Two editions 
are issued daily at 3 and 5 o'clock. 

Special attention is given to its news department; events occurring within five minutes of press 
times are chronicled daily in its columns. 

A corps of wide awake, bright men are constantly on the outlook for fresh and newsy happenings 
in the city and the surrounding cities and towns. 

The Standard publishes the full telegraphic service of the Associated Press, received direct over 
its own private wire without abridgment or mutilation, and this is supplemented by special dis- 
patches from its own correspondents. 

Republican in politics, clean in tone, and with crowded news columns, the Standard enjoys 
a wide circulation. 

THE REPUBLICAN STANDARD (WEEKLY) 

Is the favorite home journal at everj- fireside in Southeastern Massachusetts and has many bright 
departments as features, with good serials and miscellaneous reading. 

Connected with the Standard, occupying one entire floor of the building, is a 

Larp and well emiipeil M Office, Willi Fast Presses, every style of Type, 

tine, selected stock and experienced workmen. The superior work and reasonable prices command 
orders from not onh' New Bedford and vicinity but other sections of New England. 

In its own building the proprietors have more men at their command than all the other printing 
establishments in the city^ In fact it is by far the largest in Southern Massachusetts. 

EDMUND ANTHONY & SONS, Proprietors. 



GEORGE DELANO'S SONS, 

(Successors to Chas. H. Leonard and Lyles& Polhamus) 
MANUFACTURERS OF 

Sperm, Whale, Sea Elephant^-Fish 

OIIvS, 

Patent and Plain Sperm and Paraffine Wax 

CANDLES, 

Spermaceti, Whale and Fish Oil Pressings, 

SPERNl AND WHALE OIIv SOAP. 

S. C. L. Delano. New York. ) (At Factorv. New Bedford. 

[ OP^FICES: \ ■ vr ,^ , ^• 

J.\MES Del.\no, New Bedford. | (140 Front Street, New \ ork City. 



XXll NEW BEDFORD. 



THE DAILY MERCURY 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 

Published every morning, Sundays excepted, at 112 and 114 Union sti-eet. The only Morning 
Paper published in Southern Massachusetts. The prominent feature of this paper is the focal news, 
which is not excelled by that of any competitor. The Mercury has the telegraphic report of the 
Associated Press, taken in its ownofBce over its own private wire. It was the first newspaper in 
New Bedford to adopt this method of receiving telegraphic news. Its miscellaneous department is 
always fresh and bright. Terms $6 per annum, payable semi-annually in advance. 

THE NEW BEDFORD MERCURY. 

Established 1807. Is published every Wednesdaj', containing all the news of the week. A large 
twelve-page paper of seventy-two columns, one of the largest weeklies in the state, at $1.50 per an- 
num, in advance. It is full of the most interesting reading that can be obtained, and is rapidly 
growing in popularity and circulation. 

BOTH THESE PAPERS ARE GOOD ADVERTISING MEDIUMS. 



This book was printed in the Mercury's Book and Job Department, where 
printing in all its branches is promptly executed in a first-class manner by 
the best of workmen and machinery, and with new and handsome type. 

S. W. BOOTH, W. E. CHASE, W. L. SAYER, 
Publishers and Printers. 



WM. H. WASHBURN, 

Manufacturer of 

Gutters, Rakes, Mouldings, 

WINDOW AND DOOE FRAMES, DOORS, SASHES, AND BLINDS. 

House and Cottage Trimmings, Balusters and Brackets, 
Newels and Inside Shutters. 

Odd Size Sashes and Doors Made to Order. 

special attention given to Planing; Turning, Scroll and Circular 
Sawing, Pattern Making and all kinds of yobbing. 

No, m Mi Water M\ ■ - m BEOFORO, 

Hard Wood and all kinds of Pine Lumber constantly on hand. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



XXlll 



FINB CARRIAGES. 

GEORGE L BROWNELL 

OFFERS FOR SALE AT HIS 

Carriage Manufactory & Repositories, 

COR. ACUSHNET AVE. AND CANNON ST., 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 




A FINE assortment of Carriages, namely: Landaus, Coaches, 
Coupe Victorias, Coupe Rockaways, Extension and Standing 
Top Family Carryalls, Phaetons, Goddard Box Top Buggies, Open 
Road and Business Wagons. Also a very large assortment of 
SECOND HAND OAEEIAGES OP ALL DESCRIPTIONS 
Which will be sold low. 

GILES G. BARKER, Supt. 



XXIV i 



LEADING ENTERPFilSES. 



GEO. S. HOMER, 



MANUFACTURER OF 



D 



J.IXIJ-, 



LE. AND BLA 



KF 


ISH 



r\ 



k^lU 



Spermaceti, Sperm Candles, 



AND 



SPERM AND WHALE OIL SOAPS. 



OFFICE, 23 CEKTTI^H: ST. 



RACTORIES, 



SOUTH, PROSPECT, AND FRONT STREETS. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



XXV 



JOHN N. MORRIS, 



CAfENTER 



n 



e, AND AF(CH1TECT, 



Office and Shop, 73 Grinnell Street, 

NKW BEDFORD, MASS. 

Plajis and SpecifiGatdons furnishecl and Contracts 
taken for any work in these departments. 

JOB WORK PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. 

Corineeteci l;)\' Telephioiie. 




MANUFACTURERS 64 DEALERS IN 
cMEW^EbFOHD,MASS. 



COFFIIsT BR.OS., ss mid dle street. 

Manufacturers of all kinds of Plain, Fancy, and Folding 

* PA PER BOXES-3^ 



AND DEALERS IN 



Straw Boards, Papers, and Paste. 



XXVI 



NEW BEDFORD. 




LEADING ENTERPRISES. XXvH 



THOMAS B. TRIPP, 



APPRAISER 



AND 



DEALER IN REAL ESTATE 



SINCE 1870. 



Any intoimation in regard to Real Estate in 
the City or Surroundinff Towns fiirnislied on 
application. 



Office;, 32S CcDx^nty Stre^e^t. 



Residence, 37 Allen Street. 



New Bedford, Mass 



XXVlll NEW BEDFORD. 



New Bedford Mfg. Co., 



NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 



High Grade Cotton Yarns, 

Single and Twisted, Combed or Carded. 

In Chain Warps or Balls, 

Skeins, Spools, and Cops; 

Also on Beams. 



Number of Spindles, 37,056. Capital, $500,000. 



MORGAN ROTCH, President. 
WILLIAM D. HOWLAND, Treasurer. 
BYRON F. CARD, Agent. 



OII^EOTOPiS : 

Morgan Rotch, William D. Howland, 

Charles W. Plummer, Oliver P. Brightman, 

Charles W. Clifford, Edward T. Pierce, 

George F. Kingman. 



LEADING ENTERPRISKS. Xxix 

Rowland Mills Corporation, 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 

HIGH GRADE COTTON YARNS, 

Single and Twisted, Combed or Carded. 

HOSIERY YARNS, CHAIN WARPS, SKEINS, SPOOLS, 
COPS, AND BEAMS. 

From Nos. 6^s to 40^s. 

Mule Spindles, 12.952. 
Frame " 12.288. 

Twister " 6,144. 



Capital, $350,000. 



WILLIAM J. ROTCH, President. 
WILLIAM D. HOWLAND, Treasurer. 
BYRON F. CARD, Agent. 



IDIK.ECTOK.S 



William J. Rotch, Horatio Hathaavay, 

Thomas B. Tripp, Charles W. Clifford, 

Morgan Rotch, Charles W. Plummer, 

William D. Howland. 



XXX 



NEW BEDFORD. 




New Bedford, Mass. 

T)ie Only First-class Hotel In the Cit}-. Special Rates for Commercial and Theatrical People. 

Also, Proprietor of Sea View House, Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard. 

HOLDER M. BROWNELL, Proprietor. 



LUSCOMB & COREY, 

Enginkkrs and JVLachinists. 

Models, Moulds, Metal Patterns, Tools, Dies, Experimental 
Work, Special Machinery, and 

GENERAL FIRST CLASS MACHINE WORK. 

Shafting, Hangers, and Pulleys. Correspondence Solicited. 

13 RODMAN STREET, NEW BEDFORD. 

Telephone 5-6. 




Co. 



POWER FURNISHED UP TO 10 
HORSE POWER. 

FRED. S. GIFFORD, 

MANAGER. 
P. O. Box 29.5, New Bedford, Maes. 

SEND FOR CIRCULAR. 



LEADING ENTKKPRISES. 



XXXl 



The Triumph Heat and Light Companv, 

Factory, Taber's Wharf, New Bedford, Mass. 



INCORPORATED 1888. 

KD.MUNI) HODMAN, Pkes. 
.TAMES L. (UIJJNGHAM. TiiiA- 



CAPITAL, $500,000. 

KOBEKT JL CAItSLEY, Agent. 
(GEORGE I). HKOWX. Sipt. 



C 



'^ 






^-3 

c5 



DIRECTORS: 

EDMUND KODMAN. JOSHUA H. WINSLOW. 

.TAMES H. MURIvI>ANI>. PARDON ( OIJXELL. 

OT.IVER P. liRIGHTMAN. FRANK C SMITH. 

ROBERT B. C.VRSLEY. 




2C 



CD 



O 



The Gas Stoves inamitacUnefl by Mic Coiiipaiiy for Cooking aii.l Heating are Miperior 
1(1 all others. The Inirncrs when used in tlio fire pot of anv stove or lanjf*' iiroiluro heat e<|ual in 
anioiuit to that ohtained from the use of coal. Tlieir use prochices no smoke, dust ashes or 
dirt. The carrying of wodl or eoal an<l all onliiiary labor of making and tendinj: a w ooM or eoal 
fire a voidcil at a" reasonable cost for fuel. 

These burners have >>een examineiT anil tvsted by experts and |.ronoiniced b\ theni as superior 
to all others now in usie. 



XXXll LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard & Nankoket 

STEAMBOAT CO- 

******* *** T X \ y T" '\/' T T TV 7 T~> ***** ***** 

********** J J Jr\. J. I y 1 J__/ J. i X 1 -/ t ********** 

From June to October, Four Trips Daily and Ex- 
cursion Tickets sold. Baggage checked 
through to all points. 



STEAIVIERS: 

Nantucket, Martha^s Vineyard, River 
Queen, Monohansett, Island Home, 

Which are Staunch, Seaworthy Boats, running between 

New Bedford, Woods Holl, 

Martha's Vineyard, Vineyard Haven, 
Oak Bdukfs, Cottage City, 

Edgartown, Katama, 

AND Nantucket. 



LEAVE BOSTON ivom Old Colony Depots, corner South 
and Kneeland Streets and Pai'k Square. 

LEAVE NEW YORK l)y Fall Kiver Line, Pier 28 
!North Kiver, foot of Murray Street. 

E. T. PIERCE, Agent. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



XXXlll 



SAMUEL C. HART. 



FRANCIS T. AKIN. 



HART & AKIN, 

Wholesale and Retail dealers in every variety of 




For Fainily Use and Stetun Purjyoses. 

Bituminous Coal for SmitJis' Use. 

All Kinds of Wood, Kindling, and Charcoal. 

In any quantity, by Car Load, Ton, or Bale. 

ALSO AGENTS FOB THE 

Best KERTII.IZERS in the MarUet. 



House, Ship, Sign, and Ornamental Painters, 



AND DEALERS IN 



PAINTS, OILS, VARNISHES. 

AND NAVAL STORES. ? 




The best Luhricatiny Oils made for 
Machinery and Cylinders a Specialty. 

OFFICES, 168 to 180 South Water St. and 9 North Water St. 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 



XXXIV NEW BEDFORD. 



NEW BEDFORD GAS LIGHT CO., 

OFFICE, 73 William Street. 

GAS WORKS, WATER STREET. ELECTRIC STATION, SCHOOL STREET. 

The Gas Co. is now fully equipped to supply Gas and Electricity for every 

requirement of 

ILLUMINATION, HEAT, AND POWER 

^ BY ■? 



GAS FIXTURES, GAS STOVES, 

ARC LIGHTS, INCANDESCENT LIGHTS, 

ELECTRIC MOTORS, GAS ENGINES. 

Contracts made at the best possible rates. For terms apply at the office. 

CHAS. S. PAISLER, 

leO ISTortH TxT'a.t^x Stx^^t, 1<^<z^ju- B^dfoxd. 

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALER IN 

Masons' Building Materials, 

LIME, FLAG STONE, 

BRICK, PLASTERIHG HAIR, 

OEMEHT, DRAIH PIPE, 

ROCKPORT GRANITE FOR CURBING AND CELLAR WALLS. 



FOE HEARTHS, MANTEL EAOINGS, FLOORS, AND VESTIBULES. 

A large assortment in various styles and patterns of 

Plain^ G-lazedj DrnamEntal and RElief Gnnds, 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



XXXV 










The most complete, assortment of Lubricating Oil in Xii'' Euyland, and all tjoods 
vmrranted of finest quality and satisfactory to the buyer or they may be returned at our 
expense. We send out no drummers and buyers ordering direct from our factory are 
sure of saving the five to ten per cent, drummers" commissions. 




Our specialties in addition to tlie Watch, Clock, and Sewing Machine Oils, are Bleached 
AND Vat Winter Sperm, XXX Valve Light Colored Cylinder Oil, Dark Cylinder 
Oil, Extra Engine Oil, Standard of Excellence Dynamo Oil, New Bedford Spindle 
Oil, Heavy Machinery Oil, each adapted to the purposes named. 



We solicit a trial order. 



XXXVl 



NEW BEDFORD. 



MORSE TWIST DRILL & MACHINE CO, 

NEW BEDKORD, ^vlASS. 

MANUFACTURE 

PATENT TWIST DRILLS. 




Countersinks, Counterbores, Mandrels, 
Machine Bits for Wood, Adjustable Reamers, 
Chucking Reamers, Drill Grinding Machines, 
And Special Tools to Order. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



XXXVU 




THOiS J. GIFFORD & GO, 

Plumbing, Steam and Gas Fitting. 

Proprietors ^ ]\^anufacturers 
of Parle's gteam jieater. 



FACTORY, 



36] AcnsliiietAife.. NewBedM. Mass. 







^e-startX,nL"ctops. 2^f^^7''^^'d'^\ Hof^-^ri^ATEF^ St. 






F. W^ FRANCIS, 



MANUFACTURER OF 



FINE CIGARS 



NEW BEDFORD, JVlASS. 



Factory, 23 Commercial Street. 



Office and Retail Store, U8 Ukion Street. 



XXXVlll NEW BEDFORD. 



Established 1848. Capital, $3,000,000. 

WAMSUTTA MILLS, 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
FIKTE 

Cotton Goods and Yarns 

BLEACHED AND BROWN 

Fine Shirtings, Cambric Muslins, 

Lawns, Momie Cloths, Sateens, 

Checks, Cretonnes, &c, &c. 

Plain, Twilled, and Double Warp Sheetings, 

FINE AND HEAVY, 

IN ALL WIDTHS TO 124 INCHES. 

COTTON YjOs.E.NS, 

ALL NUMBERS. 

COMBED, CARDED, 

SIHGLE AHD TWISTED, BEAM, COP, 

CHAIH, SKEIHS, AHD SPOOLS. 



ANDREW G. PIERCE, President and Treasurer. 
WILLIAM J. KENT, Agent. 



DIRECTORS, 

WILLIAM W. CKAPO, HORATIO HATHAWAY, FRANCLS HATHAWAY, 
WILLIAM J. EOTCH, EDWARD D. MAN DELL, FRANCIS B. GREENE, 

ANDREW G. PIERCE. 



SELLING AGENTS, 



LEWIS BROS. & CO., New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore. 
FRANCIS A. FOSTER, Boston. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. XXxix 



ALBERT W. HOLMES, 

SUCCESSOR TO JOSIAH HOLMES, JR. 

Wholesale and Retail Dealer in all Kinds of 

COAL 



For Domestic, Steam, Manufacturing, and Smiths' Uses. 



-ALSO 



Hay & Straw. 



OP'KICE AND YARD, 

Atlantic Wharf, foot of Cannon Street, 
NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 

Telephone 56-3. Orders respectfully solicited. 



xl NEW BEDFORD. 




:• i. iRIGGS, 

Contractor 5^ Btxilder. 

54 DARTMOUTH STREET. 

Residence, comer Dartnnouth and Pair Streets. 

Plans and Estiiuates ftirnished for any class of work. 



CHARLES F. FOLGER, 



MANUFACTURER OF 



Bracl^ets, Cabinets, Easels, and Screens, 

WOOD MANTELS AND SIDE BOARDS MADE TO OEDER, 
Also bank counters and general inside finishings for stores and halls. 

Wood turning and jig sawing. 

Factory, 133, 135, 137 South Water Street, New Bedford, Mass. 
Salesroom, 264 Canal Street, New York. 

J. P. HOWATT, General Agent. 

HIRAM VAN CAMPEN, 
General Fire and Accident Insurance Agent, 

Okkice, No. 15 North Water Street. 
NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 

AGENCY ESTABLISHED, A. D. 1852. 
Superior facilities are possessed for effecting insurance against loss by Are in some of the best 

Stock, or Dividend-Paying Mutual Companies, 

on terms as favorable as can be obtained elsewhere. All business faithfully and intelligently 
done, and losses promptly settled. 



EDMUND GRINNELL, 

PROPRIETOR OF 

NEW BEDFORD IRON FOUNDRY, 

90 and 92 South Water Street, New Bedford, Mass. 

Manufactuier and dealer in every description of 

Light and Heavy Building and Machinery Castings, Try Pots, Ship's 

Cabooses, and General Foundry Work. 

A Large Pattern and Machine Shop Connected with the Foundry. 
Estimates given on application for the cost of Wrought and Cast Iron Work, for Fronts, Bridges, &c. 



IvEADING ENTERPRISES. xH 



POTOMSKA MILLS, 

OFFICE AT MILL, WATER ST., NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 



Incorporated 1871- 



Capital, ^1,200,000. 



MANUFACTURE 



FINE COTTON GOODS, 

FANCY, PLAIN, TWILLS, 

SATEENS, PRINT CLOTHS, AI^D SPECIALTIES. 



Males and Females Employed, 1350. 

Spindles, 108,000. 

Looms, 2734. 



ANDREW G. PIERCE, President. 
M. U. ADAMS, Agent and Treasurer. 
S. E. BENTLEY, Superintendent. 
WILLIAM O. DEVOLL, Paymaster. 



HORATIO HATHAWAY, WILLIAM W. CRAPO, 

ANDREW G. PIERCE, WILLIAM WATKINS, 

WILLIAM J. ROTCH, FRANCIS HATHAWAY, 

EDWARD KILBURN. 




F. A. SOWLE'S RESIDENCE AND FACTORY. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. xlHi 



Builders' Headquarters. 

Established 1873. 
Burned out and re-built of brick 1884. 



F. A. SOW^LK, 



PROPRIETOR 



gteam Wood V/orl^irig Pactory, 

-CORNER ELM AND BETHEL STREETS, 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 

OFFICE AND SALESROOM, COR. ELM AND NORTH WATER STREETS. 



MANUFACTURER AND DEALER IN 



Doors, Blinds, Sashes, Window and Door Frames, 

Mouldings, Brackets, Stair Rails, 

Newel Posts, Balusters, &c. 

Special attention given to getting out inside and outside House Finish. 
We also make a specialty, in their season, of window screens, screen doors, and 

storm sashes. 

Turning and Scroll Sawing done in a First-class Manner. 

We carry at all times a large stock of pine, ash, black walnut, whitewood, and 
other kinds of hard woods, which we offer at a small advance above cost. 

WINDOW GLASS. 

We are the largest dealer in window glass in this part of the state, also have in 
stock cathedral, ground, and figured glass, and can furnish anything ni the glass 
line. 

PLATE GLASS. 

Special attention given to furnishing plate for store fronts and other purposes. 
Estimates given. 

Our many years' experience enables us to comprehend and 
anticipate the wants of the trade and we intend that our prices shall 
be as low as the lowest consistent with good quality and workman- 

'''' BUILDERS' HEADQUARTERS, 

K. A. SOWIvE, Proprietor. 



xliv 



NEW BEDFORD. 



ALSO PROPRIETOR OR 

THE SIFFICjPLlSr, 



^1 


0) 

m 



P£l 



1% 

CI 

h-l 



0^ 




o 



Opeo from Ju.oe 1st to October 1st, 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. xlv 

CLARENCE LOWELL, 

MANUFACTURER OF 

Fine Carriages, 

274 TO 278 ACUSHNET AVE}.. 

NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 

jPs.11 TxT'oxli Strictly First-Class. 

FirT.e; IE^e;pa.iring a. Spe^cialt-j^. 



CHARLES 0. BRIGHTMAN, 

Contractor 6t Btxilder^ 

OFFICE, 82 MILL STREET. 

Shops, Rear No. 189 North Water Street. 
NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 

Plans and Estimates Furnished at Short Notice. 



Waiiisutta Block, Purchase street ; Haskell & Tripp's block of stores ; Adelphi 
Kink, County street; Ilowland Mill carpentry work; House of Correction, Union, 
Court, and Ash streets; Eesidences of Charles M. Tripp, Clarence A. Cook, Charles 
S. Kelley, Edmund B. Wood, and others in New Bedford ; the U. S. Fish Commission 
buildings at Woods Holl, Mass. ; and Globe Yarn Mill No. 3 in Fall River, Mass., are 
specimens of my workmanship. Carpentering in all its branches a specialty. None 
but competent and faithful workmen in my employ. 



Xlvi NEW BEDFORD. 



KING CDANUFACTURING COCDPANY 

NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

Mouldings, Fancy Cabinet Work, Frames, 

Easels, Mats, Art Novelties, Photographs, Artotypes, Wall Pockets, 

Towel Racks, Hat Racks, Toilet Mirrors, Fire Screens, Book Shelves, &c. 

PASTELS ON PORCELAIN A SPECIALTY. 



BABBITT WOOD & CO., 

Boiler Makers and Steam Fitters, 

Stie^e;! Sfc Gra.l'va.nizeici Ixorx \5C7"oxl<.. 

Engineers' Supplies. Bolts, Nuts, and Washers. 
Second-Hand Machinery and Boilers for sale. Repairing promptly attended to. 

Office, 32 Commercial Street, New Bedford, Mass. 

Proprietors Daisy Steam Heating Apparatus. Agents for the Richmond's Victor 
Steam Heater and the Spence Hot Water Heater. 

TELEPHONE 206-13. 

^l[[e Peirce ^ Bushiiell JVIanufacturing Co., 

NEW BEDFORD, VIASS., 

ART PUBLISHERS AND MANUFACTURERS OF 

Hand Carved, Ornamented, Shaded & Plain Oak, Gold & White, 
Silver, Bronze, and Old Ivory Finished Mouldings. 

NOVELTY AND CABINET PRAMES OF UNIQUE AND OEIGINAL DESIGNS. 

Mezzotypes and Photographs of the Latest and most Popular Pictures. 
Brackets, Cabinets, Easels, Wall Pockets, Etc. 

Panels, Mats, Art Novelties, Folders, Cards, Etc., Etc. 

F. A. F. ADAMS^ 

Real Estate Agent, 48 North Water St. 

Refers by permission to •Jos. Arthur Beauvais, Esq., President Citizens National Banli, 
Hon. .Jonathan Bourne, President ISIerchants National Bank, Charles E. Hendrickson, President 
New Bedford Safe Deposit and Trust Co., Walter Clifford, Esq., Mayor of City. 

Enjoying exceptionai advantages in the way of buying and selling real estate, 
especially sea shore residences and farms, I solicit correspondence, which will be 
promptly attended to. I will be happy to send catalogues with photographs 
of many elegant estates. All questions in regard to real estate in and around New 
Bedford cheerfully answei-ed. 



LEADING ENTERPRISES. 



xlvii 



ESTABLISHED 1882. 



INCORPORATED 1887. 



Wddden ®anufhcturing ^0.. 

CHARLES E. BARNEY, Treasurer. 

Largest -t- JVEanuf acturers -t- of •:• gteam -t- I'oys -t- in -t- yiii\erica. 




ORIGINAL MECHANICAL TOYS AND NOVELTIES IN METAL. 



Office and Factory, No. 14-8 North Water Street, 



New Bedford, Mass. 



AMERICAN TACK CO., 



MANUFACTURERS OF EVERY VARIETY OF 



TACKS, LINING AND SMALL NAILS, 



UPHOLSTERY & GIMP TACKS, 

SHOE & LACE TACKS, 

BLUED & TINNED CARPET TACKS, 

LEATHERED & COPPERED CARPET TACKS, 

OVAL HEAD TINNED TACKS, 

BRASS & STEEL WIRE NAILS, 



BLACK & TINNED TRUNK NAILS, 
CLOUT, FINISHING & CIGAR BOX NAILS, 
COMMON & PATENT BRADS, 
WIRE FINISHING NAILS, 
COMMON & SWEDES SHOE NAILS, 
MOULDING & ESCUTCHEON PINS, 



Lining Tacks, Saddle Nails, Tufting Buttons and Nails. 

FACTORY AT NEW YORK SALESROOM, 

FAIKHAVEN, MASS. 116 OHAMBEES STREET. 



C. D. HUNT. AGENT. 



J. A. BEAUVAIS. TREAS. 




ALL KINDS OF 






NO. I Wl LLI AM ST. 

COR. OF WATER ST. 



MASS. 



A duplicate of this book can be procured 
by sending $1 to the Secretary of the New 
Bedford Board of Trade. 



